Today Has Been OK (Owen's Anatomy II)
by inreverie89
Summary: What happens to the Hunt family after Teddy and Theo were born? A sequel to Time After Time. The fanfiction focuses on Cristina and Owen's role as parents of three, as well as directors of two hospitals. Contains borrowed characters and original characters.
1. Chapter 2

It's raining cats and dogs outside but the children seem not care at all. Faith is doing her homework in the library while Donna is trying to keep Teddy and Theo on the dinner table. It has been an hour but the twins seem not interested in finishing their meals at all.

There is a ringing sound, so Faith abruptly picks up the phone:

-Mom?

-Hey, what are you doing?

-Doing my homework.

-Good. Hey listen, I may be home a little bit late today. Probably at 8:30pm. When you're done with homework, can you help Donna watch them out?

-Yes.

-I'm sorry that Maggy left us at this moment. So I will try to be home as soon as possible, okay? Thank you sweetie.

Faith continues to work on her Math but her brother and sister are just making crazy noise outside. _Probably they're done with dinner. _She is a little upset so she closes the library door and focuses on her homework.

No longer after that moment does she hear a constant hitting sound on the library door. There is also some crying. _It's Teddy. _Faith rolls her eyes then walks toward the door and opens it to see Teddy standing with her messy hair. Her face is red and her eyes are swollen with tears.

…

-What is it, Teddy?

-Theo hit me…

Faith finds a paper tissue then wipes her little sister's tears.

-Why does he hit you?

-Ate my cookie. I hit him.

-Why didn't you share him a part of your cookie, honey? He's your brother.

-No. I hate him.

Faith holds Teddy hands and walks her to the living room. Donna is standing in the kitchen, preparing food for them all for tomorrow.

-Oh, Faith. Theo is at the couch. He's whining too.-Donna smiles.

Faith takes her sister to the couch and puts her next to her brother who is also in tears.

-What's wrong, Theo?

-She hit me.

-Okay, because you stole her cookie.

-Why don't she give me? –Theo still doesn't stop crying.

-Because you need to ask her if you want her to share to you. Now, Theo, ask Teddy politely then she will share you a piece of the cookie.

-No!

-So then no cookie for you.

Theo still doesn't want to compromise. He looks at his little sister with angst.

-Come on, Theo, ask Teddy politely and she will give it to you.

Faith picks Theo and puts him on her lap as they both turn right to talk to Teddy. She chuckles. Theo tends to follow her and love to be in her arms than Teddy, which is weird, but also funny.

-Teddy, give me a piece please.

-No!-Teddy turns away and hides her cookie.

-Come on, Teddy. You should share Theo a piece. Do you love him?

-No!-The little girl is still determined to be cold to her twin.

-Oh, you told me you like Theo and now you don't like him anymore? Come on, Teddy. I know you are a good sister. Share Theo a piece of cookie.

Theo has just stopped crying. He's been watching his older sister dealing with Teddy. He leans forward from Faith's laps and holds Teddy's little hand.

-Teddy!

Teddy still doesn't turn around. _She is indeed very girly_, Faith thinks to herself.

-Teddy.-Theo insists on holding Teddy's hand until she eventually turns around.

-Here.-Teddy breaks less than half of her cookie and gives it to Theo.

-Good sister!-Faith smiles as she pulls Teddy in her spare arm.-Shall we watch some movie?

-Tarzan! Tarzan!-Theo jumps off Faith's lab and starts bouncing up and down.

-Tarzan! Tarzan!-Teddy joins him and runs around the living room, too.

-Good.-Faith exhales. At least the twins have their common favorite cartoon, otherwise she will be miserable in another fight of choosing the movie.

-Let's get to Mom and Dad's room then. They have big TV.

-Oh, can you make them brush their teeth first, Faith? I will follow you right after.-Donna voice echoes from the kitchen.

-Ok guys, let's brush teeth together then we watch Tarzan, how about that?

-Yes! Tarzan.

Faith walks to the bathroom and the twins follow her behind. She helps Teddy brush her teeth while Donna catches up with her and helps Theo brush his teeth.

They eventually manage to get into their parents' bedroom. Faith turns on the DVD as the twins excitedly jump on the bed.

-Hey, sit down.

She pulls out the big quilt and the kids tug inside the blanket. Faith intends to get back to her room but Theo calls her:

-Feth! Feth!-he pats at the spot next to him on the bed.

Faith exhales then smile. She knows her little brother loves her a lot. She gets back to the bed and lie next to him.

-Feth!Feth!-Teddy is whining. She also pats at the spot next to her.

-Alright. I'll lie in the middle. Let me get a book to read first.-She fetches a book and crawls back to the big bed, lying sandwiched between her siblings. She yawns as she watches a scene of Tarzan talking to Jane.

It must have been a tired day for all three of them. Just as the film passes half of its length, Faith looks around and finds Teddy slumbering away.

-Good girl. Aren't you tired, Theo? You should sleep, too. Your sister slept.

-No, I'm not sleepy. Don't go.-Theo wraps his little arm around his big sister.

-Alright, I'm still here.-She continues the book that she is reading.

It's nine p.m that Cristina eventually arrives at home. She walks to room by room, calling out her kids' names but Donna runs to her and signals silence:

-Sh…They are sleeping.

She walks to her room and witnessing the three kids lying on her bed, sleeping safe and sound. She smiles and carefully stands next to the bed side. She leans over to give each of them a goodnight kiss then quietly goes to the bathroom.

Owen arrives home at ten when Cristina is having her late dinner in the kitchen. He walks towards Cristina, gives her a kiss then throws himself on the chair

-What a day…

-Uh huh, what a day.-Cristina nods as she continues to read a medical journal.

-Where are the kids?

-Slept already. In our bed. Poor Faith, she must be miserable with the twins.

Owen walks by his bedroom to witness his kid sleeping next to each other. Cristina quietly follows him. She wraps her arms around his body from behind as they look at their children lovingly.

-I can't believe she's just 9 but she takes care of the 3s so well. Faith is indeed a great sister. Donna told me she helped the kids to bed.

-She is. We just have a little problem now.

-What is it?

-They stole our bed. And I don't want to wake them up.

-Me too…We should probably sleep in Faith's room tonight.-Cristina suggests.

Owen turns around and showers her with kisses:

-Should we? But I don't want to mess up her bed, you know…I feel kinda guilty.

-I know. Probably we should get some blankets and lay on her floor.

-That would be fascinating. We haven't tried…erhem…in Faith's room before.

-Yes. But just on the floor, Owen.-Cristina rubs Owen's beard.

-Of course.-He pickes her up and runs to Faith's room then closes the door behind them.

*I appreciate any review, guys :)


	2. Chapter 3

_A/N: the story is set in the year when Teddy and Theo are 17 and Faith is 23. It's Faith's third day at home after a year away to Stanford._

Cristina is working on her laptop when the doorbell rings.

"Hey April, come in!"-She is surprised to see April and her daughter.

"Hey, is Chief at home? I'd like to talk to him".-April looks somber.

Cristina invites April and her younger daughter Jane to the living room while she asks for Owen who is in the library.

Owen walks out, looking anxious. Cristina can see April's eyes are red and teary, so she quietly brings two glasses of water to the living room for Owen and April. She was about to fetch some wine for them but she remembers that April is the driver today.

"I'm sorry, Cristina. It's just…the issues at the Pit and also Jackson but I haven't got a chance to talk to Chief recently…"-April murmurs.

"Oh, go ahead, I'm about to go to the library."

Cristina walks away the living room and finds little Jane sitting in her kitchen, staring absently at the phone. Thinking for a moment, she enters Theo's room and finds her son playing game on the computer.

"What did I say? No more than 30 minutes a day. You're a grown up, Theo. Don't let me repeat it time after time. You know those gamers have no life and absolutely are losers."

Theo discontentedly shuts down his computer. He jumps on his bed and presses the pillow on his head so he wouldn't have to listen to his mother's lecture.

"Jane is sitting by herself downthere, Theo. Maybe you can come over and befriend with her while April is talking to your Dad. Keep her company"

Without responding, Theo silently obeys his mother's order and looks out for Jane. He rarely talked to her before. They met a few times when the adults gathered at some random parties and the children played together. They have been growing up together, however, with high expectations from their parents who happen to be stellar surgeons.

Jane is rather a quiet girl. She has a high pitch voice like her mother and she wears braces. However she inherits her father's beautiful eyes. Theo never pays attention much to her before, but her honey look today makes he feels strange. His heart beats a little bit faster.

-Hey, Jane. How are you?

-Hey, where are Faith and Teddy?

-They went to the movie earlier. Want something to drink?

-Water is fine, thanks.

He finds this little friend rather adorable. She is a year younger than him, so she is also in her high school. Yet she doesn't look either like a drama queen or a nerd at all. _She looks plain beautiful._ Theo thinks as he observes her twirling her auburn curls.

"What?" Jane looks up and expresses a confused look.

"Uhm, nothing, want to play basketball with me in the mean time?"

"Sounds good".

He guides her out of the door to their front garage.

"Where's your dad?"

"Well, honestly, they had some sort of arguments about the budget of the Foundation and it got so intense so…my Dad just had a business trip and he fleed away for three days already"

"Isn't it that bad? I'm sorry to hear. My mom and my dad argue all the time as well. You know they pretty much are business opponents and when they get home the business issues become personal issues. It's somewhat a conflict of interest."-Theo tries to comfort his friend.

"This is not helping at all. Anyway I'm glad my Mom always has Dr. Hunt to advise her, both business matters and personal matters. Give me the ball!"-Jane grins as Theo throws her the ball to start the game.

The game is heated up already for Jane turns out to excel in basketball. The sky is getting darker and out of nowhere a car is running fast into Owen's garage, honking continuously. Jane was trying to grab the ball from Theo yet the honk freaks her out. She jumps up, hits Theo's head and falls down.

"Hey, are you okay? Can you stand up?"-Theo offers his hand to hold Jane up. He can tell her fall was pretty bad for there is bleeding and bruise on her cheek. She must have hit her face on the ground.

"It's okay."

Theo angrily rushes to the car where Faith and Teddy just abruptly park and get out.

"What the hell are you doing? You drive carelessly! And you made her fall! I'm gonna tell Dad."

"Hey, sorry, you never play basketball this late. Is that Jane? Is she okay?"

Teddy runs towards Jane and checks out her face.

"Hey, we're so sorry. Are you hurt? Come inside. I bet Faith's honking freaked you out."

"Yeah, I hit Theo that's why I fell. But not too bad".

Faith and the three teenagers walk inside. Faith is about to help Jane dress up the wound but Theo scolds at her: "I'll take care of her. You two, trauma!"

"Hey, you are the trauma in this house, Theo!"-Teddy snaps back at her twin.

Theo runs to his mother's library and looks for the first aid kit.

"What are you doing here?"Cristina asks him.

"Give me the first aid kit. Jane fell off to the ground and hit her face."-He mubles.

"Was she hurt? Let me see, I can dress her wound".

"No no, Ma. I can do it. Just…stay out of it."

"Theo!" Cristina scolds at him.

Theo grabs the first aid kit then runs to the kitchen. He pulls Jane to his room out of her surprise. "Come here with me".

"Theo, I'm fine. I like to just clean with water and salt. It's natural remedy."

"No, follow me." He gently helps her sit down his bed and opens the first aid kit. He takes out some antiseptic wipe and dabs gently on her cheek. Jane is blushing.

"Are you hurt, Jane?"

"I'm a big girl, Theo". She grins. "It's not a big deal. I bet they were just so high after seeing the movie or whatever."

Theo chuckles. "Yeah, sometimes I hate it that my sisters get along very well. I want another brother but my mother seems not approve".

"Yeah, I've heard stories about your legend mother Cristina Yang. My mom is still amazed that your mom picked her as Teddy's godmother."-Jane genuinely smiles, showing her braces.

"The injury doesn't look too bad".-Theo sighs. "But you need to wear bandage for a few days. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. I don't care about how I look that much. My mom used to be miserable with freckles and acnes and braces, too; but she turned out to be a beautiful woman. So I think I'm gonna look fine somewhere down the road."

Theo smiles at her. Jane seems like an honest girl. What he likes the most is she doesn't let her appearance bother her. She is confident that she's gonna turn out to be a beautiful swan like her mother once her puberty is over.

"I think you're beautiful".-He shyly compliments Jane.

Jane looks at Theo and blushes. She is speechless, so she just stays silent while Theo helps her dress the wound.

There is a knocking sound on the door.

"C'mon, the door isn't even closed."

Owen steps in Theo's room, coughing.

"Erhem, April wonders whether you have finish dressing Jane's wound for she's waiting for her daughter downstairs."

"We're done, Uncle Owen." Jane grins, showing her braces.

As Theo wraps up dressing Jane's wound, he walks Jane out of his room. He can hear loud footsteps rushing through the stairs. _Must be Teddy and Faith._-Theo sighs. Owen hides his smile in another cough. "Right after you, lady". He follows Jane and Theo down to the kitchen.

Teddy, Faith and Cristina are standing and waiting for Jane as her mother is putting on the coat.

"We're so sorry Jane!"-Teddy gently squeezes Jane's shoulder.

"That's alright!" She smiles and gives each of the Hunts a hug. "Bye uncle Owen, bye Cristina. Bye Faith, Bye Teddy!" As it's Theo's turn to accept Jane's hug, he feels awkward that his sisters and parents are smiling at them mischievously. He flushes: "Goodbye, Jane."

Once the sound of the car siren disappears in the street, Owen closes the door, chuckling. Cristina throws herself on the couch, followed by her daughters.

"Oh Jane!"-Cristina laughs hysterically.

"Ma!"-Theo looks angry.

"Dad, I told you, Teddy and Theo were so obsessed with Tarzan and Jane! Now that Theo has Jane, Teddy just needs to find her Tarzan."-Faith joins her mother's laughter.

"It's not funny. Jane and I are just friends!"-Theo scolds at his sister.

"And my boyfriend's name will not be Tarzan!"-Teddy quickly changes from her humorous face to upset face.

"Okay, Okay, no Tarzan. But I think Jane is a thing, Teddy!"-Faith still doesn't stop laughing.

"Dad! Ma! It's not funny! She was hurt and I just helped her dress the wound."-Theo tries to defend.

"Oh so what is it _I think you're beautiful?"_-Cristina snaps at her son.

"Son, that's my line. My signature line. You stole my line and now you say you don't have a thing for her".-Owen wraps his arm around Theo's shoulder, laughing.

"Fine. You people listened to our conversation. Where has my privacy gone?"

"That's alright, Theo. We like Jane. Just keep this in mind, you're 17. And she's 16. Act wisely, okay?"-Owen winks his eyes towards Theo.

"I like it, Owen. Trauma team has just recruited two other members. Theo and Jane."-Cristina laughs.

"Yup, that's funny. Hey Theo, does Jane know your nickname is Trauma?"

"I'm not gonna tell her that!"-Theo mumbles.

"Dad and April already made trauma team. I think it's interesting that you and Jane join their team. Trauma Ginge Team. Haha."-Faith laughs.

"Hey hey, I'm also redhead."-Teddy scolds at her sister.

"Who cares? Trauma Ginge Team. Nice shot, Faith. Up top!"-Cristina high-fives with Faith. They both laugh in joy.

...

**Please keep your reviews coming! Reading them a favorite part of writing fanfiction.


	3. Chapter 4

_**A very long chapter for you all. Drama is back! What can I say, I'm a drama writer. So sit tight :)_

**Ch.4: A NEW TRAUMA HAS COME**

A/N: The story is set in the summer when Faith is 23 ; Theo and Teddy are 17.

_Two days before Theo meets Jane…_

Owen drives his truck to the garage and the rest of the family were already standing at the door, waiting for Faith to come home in her first summer of medical school.

"Faith!"-Teddy slips out an exclamation that expresses more of a surprise than an excitement.

"What happened to you?"-Cristina raises her question.

"Nothing, Mom! It's me."-Faith reluctantly responds to Cristina as she hugs her mother.

"So now you join the Ginger Team?"-Theo looks at his sister with concern. He rolls his eyes to Owen but Owen shrugs.

The whole family stares at Faith, the Stanford first year medical student. Faith smiles shyly, letting her parents and her siblings examine her auburn hair and her multiple piercings with curiosity.

Owen and Theo help carry her luggage to her room while Cristina and Teddy pull Faith onto the couch.

"How's Stanford? Awesome, right? Did you apply into any summer research program yet?"-Cristina smiles, cupping her older daughter's face.

"Mom, give me a break. I'm only here for a week. Do you really want to talk about school?"-Faith mumbles.

"Okay, how about you tell us why you dye your hair auburn and have multiple piercings? You shouldn't wear those fancy earrings when you visit your professor's office, Faith."-Owen is standing at the kitchen, looking out to the living room where his wife and his children gather.

"What's wrong with it? I just don't like…black hair anymore. Besides, Mom has two earrings on her right ear."

"Uh huh, but my earrings are cute, unlike yours. Seriously, you can't wear those around medical school. You look like a rebel."-Cristina lectures her daughter.

"Tiger Mother of Battle Hymm."-Faith murmurs.

"Faith, don't say that to your mom."-Owen scolds. He looks serious at his daughter.

"Okay, I'm sorry Mom. I'm still me, nothing changes. And I am not overloaded. I still do well at school. So please don't worry. Can I go to my room now? My flight was delayed and waiting in the airport was exhausting."

Faith excuses herself from the family talk and walks upstairs. The twins watch their older sister carefully and discuss:

"You said she skipped puberty, Ma. What now?" Theo asks his mother.

"I don't know. Seems like puberty has revisited her." Cristina comments as she watches Faith walking away.

"Something is troubling her. We need to figure it out soon. If she keeps this mood, she will ruin our graduation, Theo."-Teddy remarks.

Later that night, Cristina and Owen lie on their bed, wide awake. They surely miss their daughter yet they worry about her more. She doesn't look happy as she supposes to if she had a successful school year.

"May be she's just too stressed out with school work." Cristina turns over and snuggles in Owen's arms.

"That's unlikely of her. She has always handled the stress well. We always say there's the trauma surgeon gene in her."-Owen runs his fingers through Cristina's black and shiny hair."Hm, Faith and you were always in a team, and she betrayed you. Now she goes for red hair." Owen chuckles.

"Yeah. I still go with my theory that puberty revisits her. I mean, she was never a rebel. She aced all her exams. Never came home late. Took care of the twins well. Never had any stupid boyf…OMG, she must have a boyfriend, Owen. She is in love. That's why it changes her completely." Cristina drops her draws as she is shocked in her realization.

"I wish she dates some decent, badass doctor. But by looking at her piercings, I don't think that guy is nowhere near a doctor stat."Owen sighs.

"So who is the Tiger Mother now, Owen?" Cristina smiles and kisses his thin lips.

"Yeah, I guess when it comes to my daughters, I'm the Tiger Father. Rawr." Owen suddenly flips up Cristina's tank top and bites her nipple gently.

"Ouch!"-Cristina hits Owen. "I hate you".

…...

Teddy sneaks into her sister room early in the morning and tickles her.

"Teddy! Wake up!"

"Get out! Gosh, I'm sleeping"-Faith groans.

"No no no, wake up Faith. And go shopping with me today. I'm looking for a dress to my graduation."

"Don't you have more than enough dresses in your wardrobe? Don't waste money".

"I graduated the third in my class, Faith. I deserve a dress."-Teddy murmurs.

"Yeah, when you get to Berkeley, all your friends are either Valedictorians or first in their class. So nothing to brag about." Faith speaks subconsciously.

"You sound just like Ma. Anyway, I thought you were always like Ma. Now what happened to dying your hair and piercings? Did you also get a tattoo?"

"I did."-Faith sighs.

"Seriously? Mom will be outrageous to know about this. Oh my god. Let me see."

Faith pulls down her shirt's neck hole to reveal a four little letter tattoo down below the collar bone: FHDB.

Theo enters his sister's room to the girls' surprise.

"Theo!"

"Morning?!"-Theo has no idea what's going on that freaks her sister out.

"Close the door and climb up here."-Teddy whispers, crooking her finger.

Theo climbs up to Faith's bed and Teddy shows him the tattoo on their sister's chest.

"O.M.G. Looks who's the Trauma now."-Theo smiles mischievously.

"Are you gonna wear a strapless dress to my graduation, Faith? I think you'd better not."

"No, probably I should go shopping with you today, indeed."

"So what does the word mean, sis? FHDB?"-Theo asks Faith.

"None of your business."

"I know FH means Faith Hunt. So DB, is that someone's name, Faith? OMG our sister has a boyfriend, Theo!"-Both of the twins drop their draws as they reason for the meaning of the tattoo.

"Okay. Shut up. Shut up. And don't tell Mom and Dad. I'm not afraid, I just don't want to hear lectures."-Faith is awake now, she leans on the headboard.

"So tell me then. What happened to you? What changed you so much? Is he handsome? Is he a bartender or something? For he must be somewhat out of our family's taste to change you completely like this."-Teddy asks her sister.

"Dad always wants you to date a doctor, Faith. I wonder what he'll say when he figures out all of this."

"Dude, he's a doctor. But there's no figure out of whatsoever okay? It's over." Faith warns her sister and brother.

"He's a doctor? So did he break your heart or something? Tell me!"-Teddy urges her sister to continue.

"Okay, you two are still young for all of this, and listen to me: never follow my pathway. But anyway, yes, he's a doctor. We were totally in love but there were also many arguments so we decided to break up. And three days before I flew back here, I and my friends hung out in Las Vegas. I was drunk, and we, first year medical students, who never loved anything other than books, had our piercings and tattoos."

"Obviously, not everything happens in Vegas stays in Vegas".-Theo shakes his head.

"Yeah, and as your sister, I'm telling you: never follow my footstep. Don't study too hard and skip your puberty and visit it later. I'm like a rebel now. I don't even understand me."-Faith warns Theo and Teddy. Obviously, as she is lucid, she turns back to be a badass sister.

"You're not the role model anymore, Faith. You're the Trauma now."-Theo chuckles.

"Anyway, sis, I hope you figure things out and be nice to our Dad and Mom. I'm sure they worry dead about you."-Teddy pats her sister's back.

"At least I don't feel guilty for I did excellent in my first year at Stanford. I did much better than Bailey, guys. Mom's strict education pays off."-Faith smiles.

"Wait, did you have the tattoo after you broke up with DB? I mean, I thought you said it's over? Don't you regret?"-Teddy raises her eyebrows, quizzical.

"Regret? Well, not really. I mean I still love him. And he's my first official boyfriend. It's just that things don't work out for us. I don't really regret what I did."

Owen knocks on Faith's room as the door is locked.

"Faith. Are you awake?"

"Come on, don't tell Dad, okay?" Faith and the twins get out of bed, follow their Dad downstairs where a hearty breakfast is ready in the kitchen.

…...

The atmosphere at the table is somewhat uncomfortable. Cristina and Owen can tell the kids know something as much as they can tell their parents really want to ask Faith about the details. But they try all means to avoid the topic of Faith so they discuss about Teddy and Theo's graduation.

"So what's your rank, Theo?"-Faith asks him.

"Second. Better than Teddy"-He grins.

"That's okay. You two are good, but don't think it's something to brag about. The better horse is the one than aces in the long run."-Cristina murmurs.

"Faith just lectured us this morning, Ma. She said exactly the same thing. Come on."-Theo grimaces.

"Okay, you guys do really well and we are proud of you so far, kids. Your mother just don't want you to think this is good enough, because this is just the start, understood? But you all deserve some rewards. What do you want?" Owen smiles at the children who enjoys his breakfast enthusiastically.

"Can I have an Iphone, Dad?"

"Me, too."-Teddy and Theo grins.

"Accepted. How about we go shopping this morning?"-Owen suggests.

Owen and Theo patiently sit at a bench while Cristina, Faith and Teddy shop inside a clothing store. He remembers years ago when Faith was a little girl, Cristina and him took her to the mall just like this. He can recall pretty well he marveled at the two women in their white dresses. Now that his family has expanded, the bliss has been multiplied. This time he is ready with his state-of-the-art cell phone to take a picture of the three beautiful women.

Faith and Teddy are about to enter a fitting room when Cristina is gasping, trying to catch them:

"Wait for me"

"Hey Mom, can you go to a separate room?"-Faith asks Cristina.

"Why? We always share a fitting room!"

"I know, okay you can be with Teddy. I'll be in the next room."-Faith murmurs.

"Why? What's wrong with me naked in front of you? Oh, what's wrong with _you _naked in front of me? Do you feel okay? Are you hiding something?"-Cristina's eyebrows crunch up.

"No, just…."

"Faith. Don't lie to me. I'm your mother."

_Tiger Mother of the Battle Hymm. _Faith thinks to herself.

"Okay, fine." Faith takes off her clothes and reveals the tattoo down below her collar bone.

"A tattoo?"-Cristina is surprised.

"Yes, Mom."

"That's not too bad. I mean, you're 23. I'm not going to lecture you over a tattoo, Faith. I just want you to know I am your mother. And I am sad that you don't look as happy as you're supposed to be when you get home."

"That's a lecture, Mom".

"Okay. But I would love you to tell me what troubles you. We are to support you, not to scold at you."

"Alright, I'll tell you when we get home."-Faith sighs.

Owen has completed the third level of his game when the ladies eventually exit the clothing stores with huge shopping bags.

"Brother, take these, please".-Teddy smiles as she hands him their bags."Now let's hit the Apple Store, Dad. I love you". She runs toward to Owen and gives him a big kiss on his cheek.

Faith doesn't talk much as she did this morning and Owen realized that. He waits for the children to shop around at Apple when he pulls Cristina outside the store and asks her:

"I guess you know what happened to her?"

"She'll tell me when we get home. But she has a tattoo on her chest, Owen."

"My god, I can't believe she's our Faith."

"She's still our Faith, Owen. She's just a little rebellious. I think she's in love. For the tattoo is a term FHDB."-Cristina smiles , rubbing Owen's beard.

"FHDB? Who the hell is DB?"-Owen talks to himself.

…...

Owen and Theo are mowing the lawn and Teddy is cooking in the kitchen. Everyone seems busily enjoy the day off, so Cristina walks upstairs and sneaks into Faith's room, who is reading a heavy book.

"What are you reading?"-Cristina asks as she closes the door behind.

"Nothing. I just read ahead the material that may be relevant for the summer reseach."

"Oh, so you did get yourself a summer research."

"Uh huh".

Cristina rolls onto the bed and snuggles her daughter the way Faith used to do when she was young.

"I like the tattoo, Faith. You will look sexy in a strapless dress."

"I didn't buy a strapless dress. I thought you and Dad would be mad once you figured out."

"I don't think it's a big deal. The red color on your hair will wear out in a few weeks, too. It will be darker, and you will look beautiful. Just decorate it with some decent earrings, Faith. They don't match your overall look."

"I was just too busy to take them off and find the proper ones. But don't worry, I know how to dress professionally when the time comes."

"I know, I know. We never worried about you, Faith. I'm just sad that you are always the role model for me to lecture the twins. Now you told them your rebellious story and it would be harder for me and Owen to teach them."-Cristina closes her eyes, relaxing.

"They are good teenagers, Mom. They'll be fine. Don't worry too much. Don't let them skip puberty like me."

"You realized? Haha". Cristina laughs out loud. "So, when did you dye your hair and have the tattoo?"

"I went to Vegas a few days before coming back here. We were drunk and having fun so we all did something crazy."

"Yeah? Did Bailey join you guys?"-Cristina asks her

"No, I was with my girl friends only. Good girls gone wild. Bailey and I don't have a thing, Mom. He's just a good friend, a great friend, indeed, since we were toddlers."

"Yeah, I figured out you never liked Bailey. That's okay. I'm not interested in the Hunt-Sphepherd matchmaking very much. We have enough drama. But who's DB then?"

"I'm over with him, Mom. You don't need to care about him."-Faith murmurs.

"No, tell me."

"Okay, his name is Daniel Bernard. But we broke up. But I don't regret having his initials on my chest. I still like him."

"So things didn't work out? Why is that? Is he a bartender or a waiter or something? For he absolutely changes you a lot."

"No, he's a doctor. Cardiothoracic specialty, just like you, Mom."

"Wow. Third year?"

"Erm…not really. He's my professor. Actually, he's also my research mentor. Or my boss, if you want to say so. I met him first as I worked in the clinic."

Cristina cannot utter a word. Her adopted daughter just repeats her history.

"Your superior, whatever it is. Oh God. So why did you guys break up?"

"Despite the fact that we love each other very much, and despite the fact that his lectures mesmerize me, we argue a lot. And it affects my study. So I think it's better we break up."

"Did you tell him you broke up?"

"No, I just…disappeared. I flew to Vegas the night of my final exam and flew back here the same day I came back from Vegas. I kept myself very busy so that I didn't have to talk to him about our issues again."

"Did you have good sex?"-Cristina whispers.

"We rarely had sex, but it was awesome. And he asked me to move in. And we also had to keep secrets otherwise people would think he favor me over the rest. That was too much to bear, so I quit."

"Faith…"

"What Mom?"

"Let me tell you a story, the story of the man who I almost wedded. My love story with Dr. Preston Burke."-Cristina sighs.

…...

"Owen"-Cristina touches her husband's shoulder from behind as is sitting in the backyard, stargazing.

"Oh hey. Have some beer."

Owen shares her his beer as they sit next to each other, looking at the sky.

"I love the tranquility of the night, Cristina. All my life has been about trauma. Trauma at work, and Trauma at home." Owen chuckles, thinking about Theo.

"You officially have a new Trauma, Owen."

"I do?" Owen raises his eyebrows.

"DB stands for Daniel Bernard. Cardiothoracic doctor, who happens to be Faith's superior at Stanford."

"She dates a doctor? But wait, you say he's her superior?"

"Uh huh, professor, research mentor, boss, whatever. And they broke up. And the girl seems sad even though she was determined to end the relationship."

"It affected her, obviously. She went for a tattoo and piercing, poor little girl". Owen sighs. He goes inside to the fridge and fetches another beer bottle.

"yeah, she reminds me of my love stories with Collin Marlow, then Burke, then you. I hope she has a cold head just like me."

"Yes, you had a cold head and a cold heart, Cristina. I almost drowned in winning your love. I had you, and then I even lost you. Too much to bear." Owen chuckles.

"The guy asks her to move in, Owen."

"I know I shouldn't say this. But I think you can see now, Cristina. All the serious guys want serious relationships with their lovers. It was so hard to persuade you women that commitment and beautiful families and kids are what we hope for."

"Oh, are you snapping at me now? Do you want me to tell Faith that she should come back to the guy who asked her to move in because serious guys are good guys, and she should marry him and have kids?"-Cristina raises her voice.

"No, no. It's not good if their love is destructive. Our love was once destructive, Cristina. She shouldn't follow our footsteps…"

"You sound like we made a mistake."-Cristina snaps at him." Are you back to the abortion and the Teddy triangle again? Do you really want to bring up the trauma?"

"No, no. I don't mean that. I think it's just better if she has a boyfriend that is on the same page, because obviously she cares about education."

"On the same page, yes. Don't follow our footsteps. Yes. I don't know, but you make me feel like I was the one to be blamed in our failed relationship, Owen. You see that Faith is just like me decades ago and it's not a healthy thing for her…"

"Cristina, I never said anything like that." Owen also raised his voice.

"Ok, let's be honest here. I never wanted children. And that day when I picked out godmothers for our twins, God knew I freaked out as hell. I wanted to run away from all those issues, Owen. I wanted to escape. Thank God Arizona and April helped me stick to the plan eventually."

"Oh, so you wanted to flee from our marriage again? Were me and my plans always too much for you to handle, Cristina? Why did you never trust me? I told you everything would turn out fine and that you would love the kids. I hope you don't say you still haven't changed your mind." Had they been arguing in daylight, Cristina could have seen Owen's face turn red now.

"Please, that's unfair. I do love our children, Owen. I never wanted children but I came around because I loved you. Ok, all my life I never imagined having children. Many factors attributed to it, but I came around because of you."

"Ok, tell me those factors. For we are married for freaking 17 years now, let alone those two years of destructive marriage that we tortured each other."-He gasps.

"Fine. My mom was strict, you knew that. My dad died when I was nine, you knew that. I never got along with the Rubeinstein family so I pretty much lived on my own until I marry you. Also, Burke scared the crap out of me for demanding a serious relationship when all I wanted was to study and be on top of the game. Also, I had an ectopic pregnancy, with his children. And last but not least, he left me in the altar."

"You had what? Ectopic pregnancy?"-Owen almost jumps up from garden chair.

"Hello. Another trauma in the family for you, I guess? Yes, I never told you about that. For it was irrelevant to our relationship."

"it's one of the reasons why you had an abortion, Cristina."-Owen just states the fact emotionlessly.

"I don't know, do you see a lot of trauma in my personal life? That's why I just wanted to focus on medicine. I never understood the bonding between parents and children, Owen. I mean, I love my dad a lot. But my memory with him ended when I was nine. And I was not raised that parents compliment their childrens. I was raised in discipline. So, feelings, love and affections don't mean much to me, Owen."-She sighs.

"And you never told me any of that. You gave me little pieces of you, years after years. Even now, you have a secret to share with me. I worked my ass off to earn your love, Cristina. It just seems like you never gave any crap about me. At least, you could let me in, share with you your darkness, and help you heal."

"No, you would ask me to see a shrink, which I would refuse. And if I agreed, that means I would be submissive to you once more."

"If a shrink worked out, why didn't give it a chance? It helped me."-Owen stands up and turns around.

"I just don't like it! See, you wanted me to do this and that so that we could be on the same page. Do I ever force you to do something that you don't like about your personal life?"-Cristina heads up, arguing fiercely with her husband.

"No, you don't force me to do anything I don't like. And thank you for that. But, I was so sad Cristina, sad, sad for years; for our love didn't mean anything to you. Our love didn't worth you to change and come around any bit. However I begged you to stay, you left for Zurich. However I begged you to give the fetus a chance, you gave up its life. And you traded me for surgeries. My love was never compared to your ambition, right? It never stood a chance."

Cristina stands up and is so ready to argue their lifetime issues with Owen, but he is shaking now. He gasps and he paces around the garden in rage. His chest pounds rapidly. Cristina realizes Owen is in a panic attack again. She jumps over him and hugs him tight.

"Owen, Owen, just relax."

He cries in anger, trying to escape from her arms:

"Go away. Please go away."

"No, no, don't resist. Your metabolic rate will decrease. Eventually your pulse will slow down."

Cristina hugs Owen tight for a while until he can paces his breath.

"Let's go inside, Owen. Let's sleep tight. Then we can talk about it tomorrow. I will share with you as much as you wish. I will talk through out of this with you, and we will never revisit these issues again. We need to straight things out if we want to live together for the rest of our life."

Cristina grips Owen's arms and leads him inside as he is still recovering from his panic attack. She can see his face is bright red and his sweats are all over his body. As they get inside the house, they stay speechless. The three children have been standing in the living room, gazing at their parents.

"How long have you been listening to us, kids?" Cristina raises her voice.

"I'm sorry, you two yelled so we came downstairs to check out….I'm sorry. Are you alright, Dad? I can get you some water."-Faith murmurs.

"Go to bed, kids. And don't think anything about what your mom and I just said. It's our matter, not yours, okay?"

"Yes, Dad. Goodnight." Faith, Teddy and Theo quietly go upstairs.

...

_**Why do Theo and Teddy call their mother Ma? I will explain in later chapters._

_**So, how do you guys like it? If you have time, please review for me, I love reading them. It motivates me. Also, there will be sunshine after the rain. Just wait for the upcoming chapters! :)_


	4. Chapter 5

Ch 5. THE VOW

The alarm goes off the second time, waking Cristina up. As a habit, she turns around, arms looking for the familiar smooth chest that she loves to lay her hands on. But there is only an empty space.

She blinks her eyes a few times, trying to shake off the dream she just had and get into the reality. It's 6:00 am and normally Owen would kiss Cristina _hard_ at this time before leaving to work. He has kissed her _hard_ every morning, whether she was sleeping or not, for the last seven teen years.

But this morning is the fourth morning in their seventeen years that Owen left without a kiss on her cheek. Cristina recalled their fight last night, upset at the thought they eventually revisited the topic they had been fighting years years ago. She thought they moved on. But obviously, the pain was still there, only subsided, until it got a chance to flare up last night.

The worse thing is, how much of the fight did the kids listen to? Cristina groans. She doesn't want to get up, get out of the room and face the issue. But she has to do it anyway.

Owen didn't prepare the breakfast like he normally does, but Teddy is already at the kitchen. Besides Owen, Teddy loves to spend some time cooking for the family.

"Morning, Ma."-She smiles as if she knew nothing of what happened last night.

"Kiddo, why are you up early? What is your plan today?"

"Zola might come by this morning to see Faith, so I guess we just stay at home. What time will you be home today, Ma? I can cook the dinner."

"Eight."

Teddy hands Cristina a plate with a boiled egg, toast and some fruit. Theo has just got downstairs; he sits by the table next to his mother.

"Morning, Ma. Dad left so early today."

"How do you know?"

"I'm always the early bird. Normally Dad wakes up fifteen minutes after me, but today he made noises when he left that woke me up."

"So, what was wrong with Dad last night?" Teddy quietly sits down next to her brother, murmuring at her mother.

"Nothing, it's none of your business." Cristina grimaces.

"You always want us to tell you everything even when we don't want to, and now we want to know what's wrong with Dad and you feel uncomfortable and so you don't spit it out?"-Theo becomes upset.

"Theo, your manners." Cristina glances at her son. Obviously they heard something they didn't want to last night, and now it is time for them to snap her back.

But her son was right. She knows she has to talk to her children today, otherwise they would misunderstand her that she doesn't want them.

"We can talk tonight if you guys want; now I have to work. Keep Faith company; she is sobbering even though she pretends she's strong."-Cristina murmurs then leaves the kitchen to change her outfit.

…...

The house becomes quiet again as the parents left for work. Teddy goes back to her room, trying to think of something to do. She is supposed to be excited and happy for the rest of the week because of her graduation. But yesterday Faith and her parents probably ruined the rest of the week. Bored, she decides to clean up around the house.

Teddy visits the library and organizes the books and stick notes that scatter on the main table. She finds a broom and brush away the dust before cleaning the glass table.

"What are you doing?" Theo enters the room after his sister.

"Being a good daughter for a day."-She smiles.

Theo tights up the curtain to let the sun enter the white room. He turns on some relaxation instrumental music that is available in the library and helps his sister clean up.

"How much did you hear? You were downstairs before me."-Theo asks Teddy.

"Yeah, I went to the kitchen for water but obviously they were so loud they couldn't notice me. I was there when Mom said she never wanted children and she wanted to run away from the marriage hadn't Arizona and April stopped her."

"Whoa. That's really Cristina Yang. I was there when Dad said that he was nothing compared to her ambition, and that she traded him for surgeries and a few more things."-Theo continues.

Faith enters the library, a little surprised to see her siblings cleaning up around. She throws herself on the rocking chair, slipping out a sigh. "Zola is not coming. What are you guys doing?"

"Cleaning up and discussing about their fight."

"They fought about me. What's there to discuss?"-Faith asks them.

"You were there for the whole scene. Why act like nothing happened? You're just like Mom and Dad, trying to avoid the topic."-Theo snaps at his sister.

"Are you okay, Theo? You seem very upset since morning. You even snapped at mom."-Teddy looks at her brother, concerning.

"I am a little upset, yes. I feel for Dad. I mean, I can't imagine she traded him for surgeries, and she left him for Zurich. You all know how much Dad loves Mom, and I think he was right, he worked his ass off to earn her love but she didn't really respect him."-Theo explains.

"I've seen them fighting before about the business. You know, Kraum vs. Seattle Grace. But they normally close the door. I hope their previous fights weren't as harsh as last night's fight."-Faith stands up and starts putting the books on the tables and on the chairs to their correct place.

"Do you know about the abortion, Faith?"

"No! All these seventeen years they rarely talk about their pre-wedding life. I mean the wedding that I participated in. I know they married once, then divorced, so there must be conflicts way before but since we became a family, I never saw them talking about their _destructive love_. And not until yesterday that Mom told me about Dr. Burke. She was pregnant with him and lost a Fallopian tube due to the ectopic pregnancy."-Faith explains to her brother and sister.

"Yeah, and Mom never told Dad about it, so he was surprised last night. That's when he began to panic."-Theo seems to support his dad a lot.

"I never saw him in that stage before. He really looked scary when he had the panic attack. I don't know how Mom knew that hugging could relieve the sympathetic nervous system."-Teddy confesses.

"I guess Dad used to have panic attacks back then. Must be due to the war. All these times he only talked about his men and his patriotism. Never knew he had some huge problems."-Faith concludes.

"So Dad wanted us but Mom didn't?"-Teddy asks them somberly.

"Don't think like that. Teddy. You know she loves you two very much. Don't listen to what she says, look at what she's done for you. I was adopted and she treated me like her own daughter. She even asked Burke to come help her operate on me."-Faith sighs.

"Yeah, she loves you because you have her characteristics. I know she loves us, but it's kinda sad to hear we were not wanted. Also, I still feel sorry for Dad. I think I can see him, based on what I heard last night."-Theo confesses.

"Come on, you two are seventeen. Have some logical thinking. Mom and Dad have their problem, and I know they will work it out, for they love each other so much. Do you see many couples that divorced then remarried?"

"I know, Faith."-Teddy nods.

"And you've heard all of their love stories. You even heard how Dad was lying to me that my mom fled away to find a cure for me. I can tell he was always in love with her, even when she left. On the other hand, Mom did everything she could to save me. Whatever may happen, she is the best mother I've ever wished for."

"That's why you never rebelled. You were always obedient, until now."-Theo laughs.

"I wish I have a husband like Dad."-Teddy smiles.

"Me, too. But seems like Daniel is not the one."-Faith sighs.

"Does he know you're back here?"-Teddy asks her sister.

"I never told him I went to Vegas then home. I just disappeared."

"You're just like Mom, sis. You turn the boys upside down. Haha."-Theo grins.

"Okay, whatever it is. Do you guys want to go to the public market with me? I miss that place so much."-Faith stands up and goes get dressed. The trio leaves the house, heading to the Seattle public market.

…...

Owen enters the house at 7:30 pm to find the children sitting around the kitchen. The white light hanging above them brightens the table with delicious food and cocktails. Faith is explaining to the twins about internal bleeding, and they seem engage in an enthusiastic discussion about a case that Faith learned in class. The scene makes Owen smiles. Unlike Cristina who loves the library the most, Owen goes for the kitchen. He believes the kitchen is the soul of the house, and that family members putting an effort into having a dinner altogether is precious. The scene in front of his eyes melts his heart all the time.

"What are you all up to?"-He yells out to the children.

"Hey, Dad. We cook something you like."

"Okay, let me take a shower first."

He returns to the kitchen and be amazed by the tempting lasagna and Italian salad.

"Have you guys eaten? I can wait for your Mom."-Owen asks them.

"She has a meeting so she will be home at nine. We ate, but we can sit here with you. Theo and Teddy, don't go watch TV. I'm only here with you for a week." Faith turns around, glancing at her brother and sister who are sneaking away to the living room.

The twins return to their seats at the dinner table, watching their Dad eat. Owen smiles thinking about his children surrounding them. He misses the way his Mom sat with him when he was eating. He loves it that Cristina just raised his children the Asian way that she was raised by her father.

"Why are you guys so quiet? The food is great, Teddy."-He wraps his arm around her.

"Yeah? I know you love lasagna."-Teddy genuinely smiles.

"So are you feeling better, Dad? You had a rough night yesterday, I guess." Theo raises his eyebrows, worrying about his Dad.

Owen sighs. He knows the children would want to hear something regarding last night's incident. He and Cristina had been avoiding their issues so well the last seventeen years that he thought it's completely forgotten.

"Kids, I used to have panic attacks when I came back from Iraq. I had a really dark time with nightmares and frustrations. It was really bad that I had to see a shrink. But your mom stood by me. She helped me through my worst. She helped me recover. People say she's cold but she is always the warmth for me."

Faith, Teddy and Theo are all surprised to hear Owen's confession.

"But Mom usually snaps at other people first, Dad. I can tell you were hurt last night."-Theo defends.

"I was. But you all heard about your Mom's childhood and background. She is tough for a reason. I am upset at times, but when the fight is over I think I can understand her. She hides her feeling because she is afraid of the drama. I usually have to stay calm and support her until she finally comes around. She doesn't want to, but she will come around because she loves me."-Owen gently smiles, recalling the past that has been well hidden for almost two decades.

The children remain silent.

"I never told you that I once strangled her, right?"

"Oh god, you did?"-Faith drops her jaw.

"Uh huh, unconsciously, though. Everyone in the hospital knew and kept me away from her. But she didn't break up with me because of that. She understood all my own trauma, and she encouraged me to see my shrink. That's something only love can do."-Owen chuckles.

"Dad, you were a really scary man back then."-Teddy confesses.

"I was. I was brusk. Brush, bruised and battered. Without your mom I don't think I could ever recover. I loved her so much and I wanted us to build a family. But I guessed she was afraid all the times. But let's skip our first marriage and our divorce, because eventually Faith helped your mother see how blessed it was to have children. That's how you two can sit here with me, right now." Owen gestures towards Teddy and Theo, blinking his eyes.

"Faith? Oh come on." Teddy grimaces.

"Yeah, your Mom loves Faith a lot, that's why she goes out of herself and keeps the pregnancy. And turns out she loves you two as well. I wish you could see how she took care of you two since you were peanuts inside her belly. So, she was scared, but don't judge your Mom by what you heard, kids. Think about what she did for you all. She raised my children into beautiful and classy geniuses."

"You sound like nothing happned last night, Dad." Teddy murmurs.

"We were fighting, then she hugged me, didn't you see? So whatever it is, we'll figure it out. I love her. And my love is strong enough to keep her around. I don't think I was wrong last night, but I'm willing to make up to her, kids. Okay, thanks for sitting with me through my dinner. I've got to see Uncle Derek. I'll be back at ten." Owen puts his plates into the sink.

…

The children are watching TV when Cristina arrives home. She doesn't see Owen's truck in the garage so she looks at her watch. It's nine thirty. Why doesn't he come home? Is he still mad about what happened last night?

"Hey Mom!"

"Where's your Dad?"

"He sees uncle Derek."

"What do you have for me, Teddy? Cashew chicken?"-Cristina goes to the kitchen and looks around.

"Yes. Cashew chicken." Teddy grins; she rushes into the kitchen to lay out the food on the table. Theo and Faith turn off the TV then join their sister.

"What is it now? Why do you all surround me? By the way, some Swiss chocolate that my employee brought for me." Cristina pulls out the box of candy from her suitcase and puts on the table.

"Yay, almond choc. My favorite." Teddy and Theo jump in excitement.

"Hey, leave a half for your Dad. He loves this one very much." Cristina recalls how Owen and the kids compete for the last pieces of Swiss chocolate with almonds.

The children grin.

"So what is it about the naïve faces? What do you want to hear from me about the fight last night? Just spit it out."-Cristina murmurs as she chews a big chunk of chicken.

"Nothing, Ma. We know you love us very much, even though you said you didn't want us."-Theo grins.

"Uh huh, I'm glad you realized kicking your ass and forcing you to study mean I love you."-She sarcastically responds.

"So, is that what we should do to Dad every time he has a panic attack? Just hug him tight and stand still for a while?"-Faith innocently asks.

"Go research, girl. You're a first year medical student. You should know by now. But yes, hugging helps regulating your sympathetic nervous system".-Cristina says as she continues to enjoy her cashew chicken.

" Is it? Or does Dad calm down because he knows you love him?"-Teddy smiles.

"Hahaha, I guess both. Your Dad struggled for a long time, kids. He had a history. But he did everything he could to become a better man for me. And I really appreciated that fact." Cristina smiles, thinking about those days when he was so happy because he had improved his condition.

"Were you scared when he was moody?"-Theo asks Cristina.

"A little. But I know he's a warm person. People say he's brusk, but he's not. He has a gentleman demeanor. He saved me from time to time."

"Literally?"-Theo is confused.

"Uh huh, the first day we met, I was impaled with an icicle. Nobody was there to help, until your Dad came by and carried me inside and helped me take out the icicle. He also took a bullet for me when there was the shooting in the hospital."

"What? Really? I'm surprised about you and Dad. You never told us any of this."-Teddy drops her jaw.

"We know about the dates and the happy times and the romantic flirting. We also know he somewhat saved you with the icicle incident, but we never knew you were threatened in the shooting and Dad took a bullet for you."-Theo gasps.

"I know , too much to process for you all. Your Dad and I always consider you all too young for all the traumas in our lives, that's why we barely talk about it. But you're grown ups now." Cristina sighs. "I also survived a plane crash, too. That was the worst of all the dramas. We were separate for I was about to leave for Mayo, then the plane crash happened. And this time he was there for me, helping me recover from the nightmare. I must say I had PTSD twice, and he was there for me twice. So, your dad is my hero, kids. And I love him very much. As much as I love you guys." Cristina smiles as she finishes her last bite of the chicken.

"I guess you two wanted to move on and forget all about the drama, until yesterday." Faith murmurs, looking down at the table.

"Hey, Faith, don't feel guilty for all of this. Yesterday we unintentionally remembered all of our issues and trauma so that today I can appreciate that we walked through it all together. Our love survives, Faith. And it only grows stronger. That's why we completely thought the issue was gone. So, even though he is wrong, I'm willing to make up for him. He's the love of my life"- Cristina rubs Faith's head, her eyes sparkle with love.

"Damsel in distress. I'm glad Dad is your prince." Teddy chuckles, admiring her parent's dramatic love story.

"I must admit our family is a trauma as a whole. Not just me."-Theo concludes after hearing his mother's story.

"Uh huh, I have to take a shower now."-Cristina leaves the kitchen.

Faith, Teddy and Theo remain at the dinner table, speechless for a while. They are still processing what their parents have just told them.

"I can't believe they went through all of that."-Teddy comments.

"Now that makes sense why they rarely talk about their previous marriage. If I were them I also want to forget about the drama."-Theo continues his sister's comments.

"It's good that they both change their attitude today. The issues remind them how much they love each other."-Faith remarks.

"Uh huh, except the fact Mom and Dad both think they are not wrong but they are willing to make up for each other."-Theo points out that the conflict is still there.

"Cranky Mom and Dad. I hope their love will be strong enough to end this fight. Otherwise, our graduation party may be cancelled. And I want gifts. I'm broke." Teddy complains.

…...

Owen enters the house at ten. He is surprised to see the children still hanging around at the kitchen table. He walks towards them, handing Teddy a bouquet of roses.

"Why are you still here? Is Mom home yet?"

"She is. What's the flower for, Dad?"

"For your mom, but just put it in the crystal vase, Teddy. Your Mom can see it tomorrow. It would be awkward to bring the bouquet into the bedroom then take it out here again."

"You're so romantic, Dad. Learn from him, Theo." Faith elbows at Theo.

"I know how to win a girl, Faith! I'm even more romantic than Dad!" Theo raises his voice. They both laugh out loud for making fun of Theo.

"What's going on out there? Is your Dad hom…." Cristina walks out of her bedroom, blushing to see Owen. She hates that Owen knows she's looking for him. She fakes a cough:

"Who gives you the flower, Teddy?"

"Dad brought it for you, Mom. But we thought you slept already."-Teddy grins at her Mom.

"I don't like roses." Cristina murmurs then closes the door behind her angrily, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"Mom is lying, Dad. She always loves roses for Mother's days." Theo tells his dad.

"You bet. I know her for twenty years. Haha". Owen laughs. He slips out a rose stem from the vase that Teddy just places on the nightstand. "Good night, kids." Then he tiptoes into his bedroom.

Cristina is reading a book by the bed light. Owen gently smiles. He loves to look at her reading, for the yellow light illuminates her beauty and she looks glowing. He puts the rose stem on the table and tiptoeing to the bathroom to change to his sleepwear.

As Owen returns, he locks the door, picks up the rose then turns off the light suddenly.

"What are you doing?"-Cristina grimaces.

Owen jumps on the bed, taking the book away from Cristina. She isn't adjusted to the light yet so his sudden moves confuse her.

"Wait, I want to read…"

Out of the sudden, he climbs on top of her, pulling off her shirt before Cristina can react.

"Owen!"

"Quiet."

Cristina lies supine, pacing her breath slowly. She closes her eyes, wondering what he wants to do next.

Still being on top of Cristina, he picks up the rose, gently caress it vertically through her face. He drags the rose very slowly, letting the smoothness of the petals soothing her skin. He pauses at Cristina's nose for a little and she inhales the light fragrance from the rose. Owen continues to pull the rose down Cristina neck. It feels ticklish so she chuckles. Then he slowly goes down to her cleavage and stop there.

"Owen."

Cristina chuckles. She takes the flower away from her cleavage and throws it onto the floor. She pulls his head closer to hers and her lips search for his lips.

"Screw the rose, Owen. I love you." She kisses him passionately.

"I love you, too."-He smiles.

"But, you need to lay down, Owen. I can't breathe. I guess you gain weight."-She pushes him aside and laughs out loud.

"Do I? I'd have to ask Theo to run with me in the morning again. He's the only early bird in the house." He lays down next to her, pulling her into his arms.

"Uh huh, now Theo's more handsome than you, Owen. Girls will follow him around. Especially when he gets into Berkeley."

Cristina reaches for Owen lips and gives him another kiss.

"We still need to talk, Cristina. We always use sex as the resolution and it doesn't work."

"We don't need to. I was just worrying about Faith. Her story reminds me of my wild past and I got emotional. And for your information: I love our children, Owen. Thank you for helping me go through my fear and doubt of the pregnancy. Without your help, I can never enjoy this bliss." She tugs her head closer to him.

"I'm sorry, too. I should understand you more. I had a wonderful childhood, but you didn't. Please, don't hide your feelings to me. I'm here with you, _for better or worse_."-Owen inhales the scent from Cristina's hair then kisses her head.

"You are repeating your vow. I like it." Cristina chuckles.

"Do you remember your vow?"-Owen asks her.

"The wedding vow? I don't. But I remember my very very first vow about you."

"Very very first vow?"-Owen is confused.

"Uh huh, it's rather a promise of my own. But I remember it."-Cristina smiles.

"Tell me!" Owen insists.

"That day when you showed up injured and you were traching the patient with a pen, Dr. Webber told me: _Dr. Yang. Take care of Major Hunt._ _Take care of him well for the rest of his life."_

_"_Did he really say that?"-Owen suspiciously rolls his eyes.

Cristina chuckles: "Of course not. He told me to take care of you on that day. But I thought to myself: Yeah, If I ever meet this man again, I would try to keep up with that promise."

Owen holds his wife tight for a while without uttering a word. He is moved by her sincere confession. She has been indeed a wonderful partner for him. Cristina is so his partner in crime and partner in love.

"For your record, I told Dr. Webber that _Dr. Yang took excellent care of me, _while you were lying hopelessly on the patient's bed and I saved you from the icicle incident..." Owen teases Cristina.

"Oh, so you're saying I don't take care of you well?" She stares at him fiercely.

"...and I will come to Webber on his deadbed, letting him know that Dr. Yang's still taken excellent care of me. And I would forever be grateful for his order." He gives her a big kiss as she chuckles._  
_

Cristina doesn't respond to Owen's compliment. She enjoys the tranquil silence, feeling contented that Owen is by her side after a fierce fight. As she snuggles in his arms, she buries her ears into the calm of his heartbeat, and falls terribly in love with the way her calm soul falls softly asleep, in his chest.

...

_**I hope you like this chapter. Please keep the reviews coming, I appreciate them! Also, I'm getting busier so I can't update that regularly, but stay with me, because there's a lot more to explore of the Hunt's family!_

_** I have a review from a guest who wonders if I know Teddy and Theo short for Theodora. Well, if you read Time after Time, you knew the official names for the twins are Theodore and Theodora, so I think calling Teddy for Theodora and Theo for Theodore is fine. You know the girl is named after Owen's friend and the boy is called Theo because that's what Crowen call the hypothetical child in 10x17._

_The guest also questions why I name the oldest child Faith, given the parents are atheists. Well, if you read Time after Time, you know why her name is Faith. Faith Yang Hunt :)_

_Finally the guests comment that my characters are out of character. Do you readers feel so? I hope more constructive feedbacks are on the way for I am the one who loves to stay true to the character. Also you may find grammar errors and sentence fragments, i guess I should post a disclaimer like I used to do that English is not my native language._

_But thanks for the reviews, plz keep them coming!_


	5. Chapter 6

_**A pretty long chapter but I hope you stick to the end. I've decided to explore further the stories of every member in the Hunt's family. Please enjoy it. And as always, I appreciate your reviews._

...

The sky had been cloudy since morning but gladly the graduation ceremony is held indoor. Owen brings a camera to record the moments his children walking on the stage with pride. Cristina doesn't smile as heartily as her husband does, but deep inside her heart she is overfilled with joy and content. It was seventeen years of hard work juggling between work and taking care of her family. And now she can be satisfied that she has raised her children right.

They eventually go back home after taking hundreds of pictures of the new graduates. They need to be back before six for the restaurant to cater the food to their house.

Not long after they enter the house and change their clothes that the doorbell rings. Owen opens the door and sees Jackson:

"Avery, come in! You're early!" Owen welcomes Jackson and his older daughter Jasmine inside.

Theo just finishes taking a shower upstairs and he's changing his clothes. As he hears the doorbell, he steps out to the corridor and hears Jackson Avery arriving. Blushing, he quickly goes back to his room, prepping his hair to perfect then putting on his favorite baby blue shirt. He has been influenced by his dad to dress like a gentleman when there's an important event. Well, today is his graduation, which makes him an important figure of the day; but meeting Jane again is what makes him feel the need to look the best in the crowd tonight.

Theo descends the stairs, smiling confidently and giving Jackson a welcome hug:

"Jackson, thanks for coming."

"Hey Theo, we've heard about your achievement. Congratulations. To you and Teddy." Jackson hands Owen's son two envelopes, which he knows two gift cards are enclosed.

"Thank you." Theo looks around to find Jane but disappointed not to see her smile.

"Where are your mother and Jane, Jasmine?" He asks Jane's sister.

"My mom took her to the dentist office today. So they might come later, but I'm not sure about that."

Faith smiles as she sees Theo's disappointment in his eyes. She can tell her brother dresses up very nicely for the night. She elbows him as they stand alone in the corridor.

"You really like her, huh?"

"Mind your own business." Theo blushes.

"Okay. I like the blue shirt. You look like Dad." She pats her brother's back.

Teddy lightly descends the stairs and joins her brother and sister near the entrance. She wears a simple lace dress in white and she braids her red hair aside.

"Where's our gift, Faith?" She grins, gesturing towards her sister.

"My trip back home is your gift, guys. I'm also broke. I'm still a student."-Faith mumbles.

"Oh so who just went to Vegas before coming home?" Theo asks her.

"I spent my money on the tattoo."-Faith grimaces.

" Nah nah, no excuse. We made you a cake when you graduated." Teddy argues.

"Fine. I'll give you two movie gift cards tomorrow. Deal?"

"Deal." The twins grin at their sister.

Another doorbell rings and it's Alex with his family. Theo is excited to see Dean and Dave after a while; he had really good times playing computer games with the boys when he was idle.

"Congrats, bro! This is what you ever wish for!" Dave gives Theo the newest game that he and his brother queued up overnight two days ago to buy for him.

"Thanks! Let's play after the buffet!"-Theo grins.

Not long after Alex arrival that Meredith, Derek and their children Zola and Bailey arrive. Faith is glad to see Zola; even though Zola is two years older than Faith, they have been great girl friends since toddlers. However, she is not very excited to see the familiar face of Bailey, for they have been roommates since they both entered Stanford.

"Congratulations, Teddy and Theo." Meredith hands the twin two stationery cards as she gives them big hugs.

"This is for your Dad, who successfully raises you kids into graduates"- Derek smiles as he shows up an expensive bottle of wine. The couple quickly strides to the living room to see Cristina and Owen.

"Congrats! From me and Zola." Bailey hands the twins two shopping bag, which encloses a dress and a pair of jeans for the twin.

"Thanks, brother." Teddy gently smiles as she hugs Zola and Bailey. He suddenly blushes as he hugs back the girl in white dress. All his 23 years of life, he always considered Teddy to be an annoying sister of his close friend. She always wore jeans and sneakers; she was as cranky as her mother Cristina Yang and she loved to mess up whatever they were playing when they were kids. Not until this moment that Bailey acknowledges Teddy's appearance of a grown, mature and beautiful graduate.

Faith departs from her siblings and joins Zola to the kitchen and catch up with her stories. The house has been noisier as the adults gather around the table and enjoy Derek's bottle of wine. Sophia eventually arrives with her mothers, and they all give Teddy and Theo gift cards and presents. Teddy smiles as she gives them big hugs; the mothers are always generous to her and Theo.

Theo sighs as he checks his phone.

"What's up?" Teddy turns around, her eyebrows crunch up.

"Jasmine said Aunt April and Jane may not come. Jane visits her dentist tonight."

"This late?" Teddy asks him

"Yeah, I guess they're too busy they can only take her to evening appointments. I don't know if I should ask Jasmine again."

Teddy laughs out loud at her brother's silly look. Then she presses her hand against her lips, and returns to a serious look eventually:

"Look at you, shining in your blue shirt. It's not for the party but for Jane, right? Anyway, a treat to Baskin Robbins, and I will ask Jasmine for you." She smiles mischievously.

"Deal." Theo sighs.

Just as they are about to walk away from the entrance, the doorbell rings. Theo abruptly turns around and opens the door to see it's raining heavily outside. Yet, he smiles. April and Jane are standing in front of him, shivering.

"Aunt April! Come on in!"

"It's hard to find a parking lot." April murmurs. Teddy quickly runs upstairs to grab two big towels and hands to April and Jane.

"Here, please help yourself. And thank you for coming." Her face brightens up as she sees them. Teddy always loves to see her godmother as well as Jane and Jasmine.

Theo can't help but smile for the whole time watching April and Jane drying up. He notices the girl still wears the bandage on her face. She looks simply cute in a blue dress. She dresses in blue, just like him. And he loves that.

"I thought you two couldn't come…" Theo murmurs while looking at Jane. He feels so contented that Jane made it to his party.

"Of course we have to be here. Congrats, Theo!" Jane beams at him. And he can see she has taken her braces off. She looks cuter than ever.

….

Owen spots Derek and Jackson engaging in a very enthusiastic talk so he joins them at the corner of the kitchen. "What are you up to?"

"We're discussing about the upcoming bid. Hey Hunt, I'm sorry but this time Shepherd will be the second representative for Grey Sloan." Jackson sighs.

"I know, my wife is one of the opponents and you're afraid I can leak the information." Owen acknowledges the conflict of interest.

"Well, I appreciate your enormous help in expanding Grey Sloan so far. But trust me, leaving you out of the case this time will save your from potential headaches and marriage crisis."

"That's alright. Just let me know if you need a consult. I'm all for Grey Sloan." Owen clinks his bottle to Derek's and Jackson's.

"After all these years I still admit it's not easy to be an Avery. April and I argued a lot about putting Jane onto the board after her sixteenth birthday. The girls completely lack of interest in business and April is upset that they don't have enough time for school work and extra curricular activities." Jackson complains to the other men.

"April told me you fled away. So that's the reason?" Owen chuckles.

"I had to attend a meeting with the Foundation in Boston. I didn't flee!" Jackson rolls his eyes.

"It's alright. Meredith and I still sometimes argue about how I put my career first and hers second. It's not true, but it's so hard to change her belief."-Derek admits.

"Cristina is an overbearing mother, according to the kids. I mean I appreciate the fact that she raises them so well, but they are grown ups now and I respect them if they want to go their own ways." Owen shares his story.

"April is stressed out about my mother's attempt to pass on the legacy to the little girls. I know the kids deserve more than schoolwork and financial statements, but yes, the Harper Avery is gonna be in their hands one day, and I think it's important they are familiar with the work."

"Cheers to our problems!" Derek smiles as he raises his bottle.

….

Owen walks to the library to look for the book that April borrows him. It's a book about popular trauma surgeries in Afghanistan that Cristina gave him on his birthday. As he enters the library, he sees Teddy standing and looking out of the window to the rain. She is deep in her thoughts.

"Teddy, what are you doing?"

Teddy turns around to see her dad. "Nothing. It's kinda noisy so I just want to be alone for a few minutes. What are you doing Dad?"

"Looking for the book _Front Line Surgery, A Practical Approach."_

"It's in my shelf, Dad. I love that book." She smiles and walks toward to the shelf that is dedicated to her books. She pulls out the book in white cover and a piece of paper falls down to the floor.

"What is it?"-Owen asks her.

"It's the lyrics of Edelweiss that you wrote for me, Dad." She smiles, looking at the neat handwriting on the piece of pink paper that her father wrote for her when she was younger.

"Edelweiss, we haven't sung that folk song for a while. Shall we?" Owen smiles, rubbing his daughter's red head. His eyes sparkle in excitement.

"Are you tired with the chitchat, Dad?"

"No. But I would love to spend some time with my little daughter. Wait here. I'll get the guitar."

Owen brings the book to April who is sitting in the living room. He rushes back to the library to Teddy. The yellow light from the chandelier warms up the room despite the cold rain outside.

Owen takes down the guitar on the wall and sits on the crimson velvet couch. He pulls the guitar out of its cover then starts strumming a few notes to test the sound. "Sit down, sweetie". He gestures his head towards the spot next to him. Teddy gently smiles. She leaves the large window and approaches the couch. She sits down on the floor, laying a hand on her father's lap. She loves the scene in _The Sound of Music, _where the daughter sat on the floor and sang along Edelweiss with her father. Owen introduced the old movie to Teddy since she was five, and she can still recall every scene in the movie vividly. She loves all the songs that were played as well.

"Do you still remember the lyrics?" She asks her father.

"Of course. It's one of my favorites. "

Owen looks at his little daughter endearingly and starts strumming the guitar with his fingers. A slow, nice melody fills up the air.

_Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me_

_Small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me._

He thinks about Cristina as he sings out the verses. He recalls her small, delicate frame and her bright smiles. Cristina was the one he looked for every time walking into the hospital. Every morning, she would look happy to see him, just as much as he would when he saw her.

Teddy sings along with Owen. Her soft, silvery voice naturally plays out in the atmosphere and harmonically joins his deep, warm voice. Teddy is the only one in the family who loves to sing like her father. Sometimes when the house was quiet, he took out his guitar and sang out loud his favorite songs. Whatever Teddy was doing, she usually ended up sitting next to him, singing along with him. She didn't realize since when her father's songs became her favorites.

_Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow._

_Bloom and grow forever._

_Edelweiss, Edelweiss, bless my homeland forever._

Edelweiss in an Austrian folk song but Owen and his fellow soldiers usually sang when they gathered. The song has a patriotic meaning, and it reminds him of the time being in the army, serving in the middle of the hot sandpit.

Owen continues to strum the melody as they are about to repeat the verses. He gazes at Teddy, admiring his daughter's shining braid falling on her shoulder. Flashbacks of seventeen years raising the twins visit his mind. He barely noticed time has flown by for he was always happy committed to being a father and a chief of surgery. But now, the little girl who curled up in his arms and blew spit bubbles has grown into a beautiful woman in front of him. He's aged. And it's about time he turns a new page of his life, stepping back from protecting the children and gradually letting them go to conquer their world.

Meredith and Cristina are standing near the stairs and they detect a melody coming from the library.

"Is that Owen playing the guitar?" Meredith asks her friend.

"Yeah."

"I never heard him singing. It's great. And who is singing along? Faith or Teddy?"

"Teddy. She sings well just like her dad." Cristina acknowledges.

The two women quietly tiptoe to the door of the library. Cristina doesn't want to enter and ruin the father-and-daughter moment between Owen and Teddy. She carefully observes the hero of her life, whose blue eyes sparkle with content. Despite she hates the fact that the twins resemble their father's personalities; she must admit that this scene is adorable. She loves it every time Owen and Teddy sing together.

"It's their favorite duet."-Cristina explains to Meredith.

"How romantic. It explains why you fell for him". Meredith chuckles.

Bailey was standing near the stairs talking to Jasmine when he hears the music. Curious, he excuses himself then follows the sound to the library. He stands behind Cristina and his mother, witnessing Teddy and her father singing. He is amazed by Teddy's feminine look today. She sits on the floor like a little princess in white dress, enjoying some precious time with her father. It's a breath-taking moment, Bailey thinks to himself. Bailey has known of Uncle Owen as a classic gentleman. He likes the idea that Owen raises Teddy and Faith into elegant ladies, too.

Owen and Teddy move on to their next favorite song: The Sound of Music. As her father is playing the prelude, Teddy adjusts her pose and plays with her braid. Bailey admiringly observes the girl glowing in the warm yellow shade. When she raises her voice, he feels his heart skipping a beat. He would love to enter the library, sit next to Teddy and listen to her, but he shakes his head to escape the awkward idea of getting closer to Teddy. He blushes as he realizes that his best friend's little sister takes his heart away before he and Teddy had a chance to talk more.

Cristina realizes someone is standing behind her back so she turns around.

"Hey Bailey, what are you doing?"

Bailey flushes. He is too arrogant to admit that he stands here to listen to Teddy. He looks down, murmuring;

"Mom, ah…uhm…can I borrow some money?" He asks Meredith.

"Here? Now?" Meredith's eyebrows crunch up. Before she has something else to say, Bailey murmurs:

"Never mind" then walks away. He realizes he just makes a fool of himself in front of the two mothers. The best way is to flee away from the awkward situation.

Teddy and Owen pause as they hear the conversation outside. He puts the guitar back into its cover, gesturing his head towards the door.

"Probably people are looking for us." Owen smiles.

"Yeah, I'll go join Theo and Faith." Teddy stands up, wraps her arms around her father and kisses his cheek.

Teddy stops by as she is surprised at Meredith and her mother standing outside the door. She shyly smiles as Meredith compliments her beautiful voice, then strides to the kitchen to grab some more ginger ale and fruit. She spots Zola and Faith in a corner of the house while Jasmine and Bailey in another corner of the house. Teddy smiles mischievously, remembering Jane has told her about Jasmine having a crush on Bailey. She wonders what's so special about this guy that many girls fall for him. According to Faith, Bailey also has two girls at Stanford just hoping to hang out with him. She decides to join Jasmine and help matchmaking Jasmine and Bailey, for she likes Jasmine and Jane a lot.

"Jasmine, you look gorgeous. And it's a beautiful dress." Teddy blinks her eye to Jasmine.

"Right?" Teddy turns around, waiting for Bailey's confirmation. He stutters: "Absolutely".

Teddy continues to compliment Jasmine but Bailey just stays silent. He's busy looking at Teddy, now that he is standing closer to her.

"You sing very well, Teddy." Jasmine cheerfully responds to the compliments.

"You spied me?"

"We heard someone singing and Bailey was curious so he checked you out. He thought it was Faith."-Jasmine smiles.

"Come on, you're her close friend but you don't know she has a terrible voice?" Teddy laughs out loud at Bailey's frustration.

"I don't know because she never sings"-He defends himself.

He hates that he was always having fun teasing this girl when they were little, and now it seems Teddy takes control of the situation. He also hates that he was always confident when it comes to talking to the chicks, and now here he stands, flushing and stuttering.

Jasmine excuses herself to get some more drink, leaving Bailey and Teddy alone. Teddy tends to flee from standing with Bailey, but he catches her hand and stops her before she walks away.

"Wait."

Surprised, Teddy takes her hand off Bailey's. "What?"

Bailey still doesn't let go off Teddy's hand. She can feel his hand all warm and sweaty. She tries to shake off her hand away from his.

"Let off my hand, Bailey." She rolls her eyes, full of surprise.

Bailey just realizes what he's doing. He abruptly lets go off her hand and stutters: "It's…a beautiful song. What's the name?" He tries to find something to talk about.

"Edelweiss. It's my dad's and my favorite song."

"Your dad sings very well. I never knew Uncle Owen has so many talents."

Teddy laughs out loud "Of course, he's talented. What about me? How do I sing?" She innocently asks Bailey.

"Breathtakingly beautiful." He murmurs.

Teddy is shy at Bailey's sincere comment. She just realizes Bailey is not the cranky brother that he has been to her for the last seven teen years. She feels awkward so she tries to walk away.

"I've got to find Faith. See you around, bro." She emphasized the word _bro_ before sneaking away. Bailey sighs. He doesn't even know what he is doing. Falling for Teddy may be the craziest idea he's ever come up with, given her mother is the legendary Cristina Yang and her father is Uncle Owen Hunt, who he respects and feels afraid at the same time.

Cristina has been observing Bailey since he stood behind her back watching Teddy. She spotted him abruptly held her daughter's hand and gave stolen glances to the girl as Teddy engaged in other talks with her friends. Owen approaches Cristina and Meredith with a glass of sangria and excuses themselves:

"Meredith, can I borrow my wife?" He puts his arm on Cristina's shoulders.

"She's all yours." Meredith cheerfully responds.

Owen guides Cristina to the area below the stairs where it's quieter. He looks at her as she drinks up her sangria.

"What?" Cristina raises her eyebrows.

"I miss you. You've been with Meredith and Callie all night. You need to spend some time with your husband, too." He leans over and kisses her sweet lips filled with sangria taste.

"You taste like sangria." He chuckles.

"And you taste like egg rolls." She laughs.

"It's nice to have a multicultural feast."

"Uh huh. Egg rolls dipped in honey mustard is the best combination. I told ya."- She murmurs, reaching for another playful kiss from Owen.

"Shepherd is excited that Faith and Bailey make the best study buddies. He's been dreaming about the two becoming a couple. I don't want to tell him that we can't be the in laws because Faith is in love with another guy." Owen pulls Cristina into the library, placing her onto his lap.

"We can still be the in laws." She smiles mischievously, wrapping her arm around his neck.

"How come?"

"Bailey has a crush on Teddy, if I'm correct."

"Oh no, it can't be. She's not even eighteen yet. And she needs to finish her Biochemistry degree in Summa Cum Laude before she can date any guy." Owen shakes his head furiously.

"Why is it when it comes to dating, you're so strict to the kids? They'll be fine. They'll be just as cool as me." Cristina rolls her eyes.

"Just like you're strict to them when it comes to their study. I dare not imagine them dating the wrong guys, Cristina. Who knows the guys come to Faith or Teddy because they know her mother is Cristina Yang? They'll take advantage of the girls. Look at Faith, she went tattooing because of a guy."

"Relax, Owen." Cristina places a gentle kiss on his cheek. "If they know the mother is Cristina Yang, then they know the father is former Major Owen Hunt, who can shoot a target with a sniper from a 7000 feet distance." She bites her lips, smiling mysteriously. "Besides, I think it's kinda cool to tattoo a lover's name on one's chest. I think it's kinda…sexy…" Cristina gently plays with Owen's auburn curls.

"What happens to the Tiger Mother?" He chuckles.

"Maybe…I should go and have a CYOH tattoo on my chest one day." She smiles.

"Okay, that's even sexier." He buries his face into Cristina's voluminous hair and inhales the fresh scent.

"Erh hm.." Jackson fakes a cough as he enters the library and witnesses the hosts getting intimate with one another.

"What do you need, Jackson?" Cristina turns around, laughing cheerfully along with Owen.

"We're looking for you two…Meredith suggests we stick around the fireplace and have a cozy gathering since it's still raining heavily."

Cristina climbs off Owen's lap. He stands up, gesturing his head towards the library.

"That's a great idea. I'll turn on the fireplace in the library. We can gather here and have some red wine. It's much warmer in here than in the living room."

Owen turns on the gas fireplace and cleans up the books that scatter on the table. The guests start to appear in the library with their wines and food on their hands.

"It's much cozy in here. And I always love your library." Callie smiles at Owen.

"Come on in, I guess it's already a mess in the kitchen and living room." He grins.

Meredith has been buzzing around, trying to catch Faith. Every time she sees Owen's oldest daughter, she insists the girl on playing a piece of music for her. However busy he was as a single father, Owen always made time to take Faith to piano classes since she was four. Meredith and Derek sometimes helped picked up the girl after class if Owen had an emergency surgery. Personally, Meredith felt contented when she was invited to Faith's recitals. She felt proud for she was significant in Faith's achievements.

"Come on, Faith. We love listening to you playing!" Meredith insists.

"I forget everything!" Faith grimaces as Meredith catches her up eventually. She pulls the girl into the library.

"No you don't. You played piano for thirteen years. You can't easily forget." Meredith smiles victoriously as she pins Faith on the piano bench.

"Please, Faith, you play beautifully, a sonata will be great." Arizona smiles, knowing that it will make people do what she requests.

Everyone gathers around the piano where Faith reluctantly sits down.

"How about a relaxing piece? A sonata may be melancholic given the cold rain outside." She murmurs.

"Wonderful." Derek smiles as he places his hand on Meredith's shoulder.

Faith flips over the familiar piano book then decides to go with a piece of Bach that she favorites. Her slender fingers start to play on the ivory white and the charcoal black keys of the Prelude in C Major. The grand piano fills the air with the sweet, mesmerizing tune. The guests silently enjoy the sound of music.

Cristina and Owen stand afar from the library, observing their daughter taking away the guests' hearts. She wraps her hand around his waist and leans on his shoulder. She knows Owen is filled with pride, for he has raised the adopted child into a beautiful classy woman. Most important of all, he nurtured the girl with love. He was born to be a great father, she thinks to himself.

"Another one, please." Callie insists on Faith as she finishes the last notes of the Prelude.

"I really don't remember much. Oh, it's Theo and Teddy's party. Come over here, dudes, you can play a song for the guests!" Faith's eyes brighten up as she figures out she can pass on the burden to her siblings.

Cristina speaks up from the corner of the room:

"Oh, don't ask for Teddy. She rarely practiced arpeggio."

"Ma!" Teddy turns around and looks at her mother, pouting.

"Jane, why don't you come over and play some music for us? You play really well." Cristina asks Jane who is standing near the bookshelves with her ginger ale.

"Oh, I don't remember any piece of music. I would need my book here." Jane politely declines.

"Teddy, what is the duet that you and Jane used to play together?" Faith blinks her eyes at Teddy, half smiling.

"It's Canon in D"-Teddy smiles.

"Come on, Jane, you and Teddy can duet the Canon in D. You two played that piece so well together." Faith walks towards Jane and pins her to the piano with encouraging words.

"Oh, I don't…I can't play today, my hands are sore. Theo can play my part." Teddy smiles mischievously, elbowing her brother.

Cristina secretly smirks, knowing her daughter is setting Theo to play against Jane. She cheers:

"Yay, come on Theo, show the girls how well you play."

Owen and Meredith turn around and look at her.

"What? Competition is good! Come on Theo! Whoever plays better gets a $50 movie gift card from Alex!" Cristina cheerfully announces.

"Wait, why am I giving away the gift card?"Alex rolls his eyes to everyone's laughter.

"Jane, show Theo your talents!" Callie enthusiastically cheers.

"Come on dude." Bailey pats Theo's back.

Jane smiles as she turns around and gives Theo a defiant look. Theo grins in respond. He walks over and sits to the left of Jane on the bench. He loves that this girl is always naturally confident. Her calmness when being with him excites him even further. He turns over to Jane: "Shall we?"

"Let's."

Faith smiles as she watches her brother playing the duet along with Jane. This is the first time that she carefully pays attention to Jane playing the piano. All she can recall is Teddy and Jane playing together some piece of music when they were nine or ten. Jane sometimes came over and had sleepovers with Teddy when they were young. Jane is playing the notes perfectly; seems like the girl learned the Canon by heart.

Theo doesn't show any sign of being superior in this situation. He makes no mistake in coordinating with Jane to create a beautiful upbeat sound. Even though he has to rely on the sheets to play his portion, he practiced many duets with Teddy before and they even performed on stage once. So he's not nervous at all that Jane knows the music by heart. He's just enjoying her existence next to him as they play the Canon to their hearts' content.

"Is there something going on? Theo and Jane, are they… a thing?"-Meredith quietly tiptoes to Cristina's spot and whispers to her ears.

"Uh huh, I think so." Cristina smiles mischievously.

Everyone applauds as Theo and Jane finish the Canon. Callie walks over them and grins.

"Uhm, it's still hard to tell who plays better. Maybe another song?"

Jane turns around and looks at Theo in excitement: "How about the Marche Militaire by Schubert? It's hardcore."

Theo looks at the girl who is sweating due to intensive concentration. Her shiny sweats make her glow in the yellow shade.

"Of course. I know that duet."

They start to play another piece of music, this time with faster tempo and more complicated chords. Jane is confident with the song for she played it really well with her friend in the final exam of the piano class. She thinks she can defeat Theo. But he's calmly running his fingers on the keys. He knows the Marche Militaire well because he and Teddy had practiced before, both in left and right position.

"They play very well. Competition is good for them. Jane was never that enthusiastic in practicing the piano like this." April whispers to Jackson as he sips up his sangria.

"I bet it's not just pure competition. There's a fire going on. Theo must come and have a serious talk with me if he wants to take Jane out for a date. She's just sixteen." Jackson wraps his arm around April's shoulder, realizing what's going on between the kids.

"Alright, I think the gift card belongs to…Jane. What do you think?" Alex fakes a cough.

"Of course, the girl plays beautifully." Arizona walks toward the grand piano, rubbing Jane's hair.

Theo smiles. He quietly walks away to grab his drink on the table. He knew beforehand that Jane would receive the gift card, but he thoroughly enjoys playing his heart out along with Jane, to everyone's witness. He thinks the girl is just like his mother Cristina Yang. She knows who she is, she is aware how great she is.

"Don't be sad, son. You played very good." Cristina reaches for Theo's long arm and pulls him over her to hug him. Her son is much taller and bigger than her now, but she always love to hold him in her arms.

"What a great night. I'll help you guys clean up before we leave." April offers to help cleaning. She exits the library and everyone starts to follow her.

Theo pretends to pick up the leftovers on the table and lingers in the library a little longer. He hopes Jane won't walk away immediately, and it seems like she understands that. He waits until everyone has left then he walks over her. He can't hide his happiness in his eyes.

"You took off your braces. How does it feel?"

"A little painful, I couldn't eat tonight. But it feels great." She genuinely smiles.

"You look…cute" And Theo can't wait any longer. He kisses Jane on her cheek. He gives Jane his first kiss. "Thanks for coming over."

Jane blushes. She looks down. "Theo."

"Can I…ask you to go out and see a movie with me?" He murmurs.

"I win the gift card, Theo. Do you mean I have to pay?" Jane chuckles.

"No, no. I mean I will buy. I just wonder if you…want to go out with me. Like on a….date?" It's Theo's turn to blush.

"You'll need to come over my house and ask my Dad. But I'd love to, Theo." Jane cheerfully talks in her high pitch.

"Sure. Let's get out of here first." He leads Jane out of the library.

After every one helps Owen and Cristina cleaning up the leftover, they start to depart. It's still raining heavily outside so Owen and Theo carry the umbrellas and help the ladies to their cars.

"Thanks for coming even it's raining outside, Aunt April". Teddy gives April a grateful hug.

"Thanks, Aunt Callie and Arizona. And Sophia." Theo takes turn to hug the guests goodbye.

Faith is cleaning the library while Cristina and Owen spend some time alone in the living room.

"Look at your kids, Owen. Just right out of high school and they already have people to lay eyes on." Cristina complains.

"I know. We have a new job now: making sure the kids maintain their academic performance while keeping them away from love troubles." Owen pulls his wife closer to him.

"Blame yourself, Owen. You turn my son into a sexy guy that Jane can't take her eyes off him. You'd better talk to him before Jackson brings Theo to court for statutory rape." She looks at Owen, smiling mischievously.

"Don't go there…I'll talk to Theo. But he's our son. He's raised into a gentleman." Owen rolls his eys.

"Uh huh, let's see if he can control himself well like his father." She murmurs

"Oh you know I can't control myself every time I'm with you…" Owen buries his face into Cristina's hair, responding in a flirting tone.

"And Jasmine likes Bailey, yet Bailey likes our Teddy, did you notice that? So, she'll be pulled into a love triangle that I know she never wants to get involved." Cristina talks in her monotonous voice, thinking about the conflict between Owen, Teddy Altman and her.

"Wow, I don't know about that. You paid close attention to them."

"It's woman instinct, Owen. I'm just afraid our daughter will break the boy's heart. She's a tomboy." Cristina laughs out loud.

"She's not. She's very feminine and cute in a dress today. She's as beautiful as her mother."

"Theo should learn those flirty words from you, Owen."

"He won't. He has his signature lines." Owen chuckles.

"I just worry about Faith. She looks okay but I hope she really is." Cristina intertwines her fingers into his.

As Cristina mentions Faith, the doorbell rings. They both stand up and look at each other with surprise.

"Who comes over at this time?"

"Someone left something at our house?"

Cristina and Owen advance the hallway but since Faith is in the library, she reaches to the door before them. It's still raining cats and dogs outside, and there stands a tall guy in his dark coat. He is completely soaked in the rain. Cristina can see her daughter is surprised to see the stranger. She eventually let the man step inside.

"I know we broke up, but why did you turn down the cardiac sarcoma research for some crappy gestational diabetes trial? You have the greatness in you, Faith." The man gazes at Faith longingly yet with slight disappointment.

"It's over, Daniel. Don't bother. How can you find my house?" She murmurs.

The water keeps dripping from the guy's coat onto the floor. He looks at her without uttering any other words. Suddenly he wraps his hand around the nape of her neck and leans down to gives Faith a deep kiss.

"I love you, Faith. I love you very much."

Cristina and Owen observe the whole scene in amazement. She drops her jaw while he rolls her eyes to see the tall guy kissing their daughter passionately at the front door. The young couple looks just like the famous Unconditional Surrender Statue in San Diego.

Cristina immediately gets back to her demanding demeanor. She raises her voice: "You turned down a cardiac sarcoma research for a diabetes trial?"

Hearing her mother's scolding, Faith turns around with frustration in her eyes. Owen is calmer. He fakes a cough:

"Who is this, Faith?"

"Ah…uhm…it's Daniel Bernard….my mentor." She stammers.

No one could utter another word. There is just heavy raining and thunder roaring in the dark night.


	6. In my veins 1

_**Hi guys, thanks for the reviews. You guys are just __**too**__ good. I have the whole idea in my head how the story is going to unfold already. And I promise you, there will be more Crowen scenes when the time comes. More drama, more fluffiness. So stay with me, and please review, because it makes me happy/giddy etc. hehe._

_**I decide to add graphics into my story. So if you like this so far, you can check out my twitter gaucung89 or my tumblr you-pulled-out-my-icicle to have a glimpse at Faith, Teddy, Theo, the house, the room, as well as any scene that may be written in the story!_

_P/S: I'm Asian, so my perception on how parents meet their children's bf/gf may be a little different. I'm trying to stay true to American culture, let me know if you have any comments, and even prompts, regarding the meeting between parents and children's bf/gf._

* * *

In my veins, part 1

Teddy rapidly runs upstairs and grabs another guest towel to the man who supposes to be her sister's mentor. It's a weird day, she thinks, for she brought three towels to three people who made a huge effort to visit the family despite the heavy rain.

Teddy passes the towel to Faith who reluctantly gives it to Daniel Bernard, a tall, dark skinned guy with a pair of sunglasses. She knows her appearance is not appreciated at the moment so she returns to her room upstairs. Theo is already standing at the railings, so she joins him and the two stands quietly, wondering what their parents are going to do next regarding the stranger.

"Mom and Dad, I'm gonna drive him to a hotel." Faith explains to her parents who are still standing at the other end of the hallway impatiently.

Owen can see the irritation in Cristina's eyes. He knows she has a lot of questions to ask the two, and so does he. He puts his arm on Cristina's shoulder, signaling her to calm down and behave like a host who has an unexpected visit from a guest.

"Faith, why don't you invite your guest to the living room and let him have some warm up tea? We also have a guestroom, he can stay here with us tonight." Owen gestures the girl to bring Daniel inside.

"He prefers to stay at the hotel, Dad." She murmurs. Faith knows there's no good in bringing Daniel inside for her mother's interrogation, especially now when it's past midnight.

"Daniel, why don't you come in and let yourself dry up completely before you find a hotel?" Owen targets his request at Daniel this time. He would want to know how this man behaves towards his girlfriend's parents.

"Thank you for inviting me in". Daniel politely responds.

It is a nontraditional encounter for Faith still doesn't have a proper chance to introduce Daniel to her parents. All of them feel anxious about what to say next, but the best thing to do now is to let Faith take Daniel to the guest restroom so he can dry himself up. Owen and Cristina returns to the kitchen. She makes a pot of hot tea in her favorite china and he turns on the light in the kitchen and the living room. Cristina whispers:

"Can't believe I have to pretend to be a decent mother and have a decent talk with my foolish daughter's boyfriend."

Owen shakes his head:" Stalking my daughter and kissing her brutally in front of me, what a _great_ way to give a first impression." He brings the pot of tea and a few cups out to the living room. He sits down next to his wife, arms folding and eyes narrowing.

Faith and Daniel slowly approach the living room. Daniel is a little bit surprised to see the parents sitting on the couch. He guesses the family maintains the Asian traditions so it's best to slightly bent his head down, showing the sign of respect, before offering a handshake:

"Sorry for visiting Faith at this late. I'm Daniel Bernard. And it's my pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt."

Owen and Cristina eventually stand up to accept the handshake. Faith looks at her parents, rolling her eyes, hoping they would not make a big deal out of this meeting.

"I'd rather you call me Dr. Yang. Cristina Yang." Cristina responds in a monotonous voice.

"Dr. Cristina…..YANG. My pleasure." Daniel rolls his eyes. He turns around and gives Faith a why-don't-you-tell-me-it's-Cristina-Yang look.

"Of course. And my husband is Dr. Owen Hunt. Chief of Surgery at Grey Sloan. Please sit down."

Faith intentionally looks at her watch, signaling her parents that it's too late to give an interrogation. Cristina just ignores her daughter. She pours down the jasmine tea on the cup, and asks:

"So, what's your reason to visit Seattle at this time?"

"I…" Daniel sighs. "I would like to discuss further with Faith about her summer research options. I would really like her to take on the cardiac sarcoma research."

"At Stanford? I thought Dr. Stevens takes charge of the project." Cristina smiles. She knows all the old doctors at Stanford.

"I've taken over the project for six months now. We've started phase 2 and it's really exciting. Only three med students are invited to join this summer research and we offered Faith, but it seems like she has another project in mind. So I understand my appearance at Seattle is unexpected, but I really love to talk with your daughter about that."

Cristina can see the enthusiasm in the guy as he talks about his cardiac project. The tall, dark guy somewhat reminds her of Preston Burke. Looking at her innocent daughter, she feels like the history just repeats itself. She hopes the girl will strive for the best and gets the most out of her education, for according to Daniel, Faith is one of the best in her class.

Owen sees there's more reason to Daniel's unexpected visit than a simple research offer. Obviously, the guy kissed his daughter at the front door. He gave her an _Unconstitutional Surrender _kiss. It seems like their love is still going on despite his daughter's attempt to break up. The guy reminds Owen of himself: stubborn, a little brusque, and a lot passionate.

"So, I've heard you're a professor over there?"

"Yes, Dr. Yang. I teach Physiology for first year students and Cardiovascular for second year students. Besides, I've been working on this project and I attend the clinic at Stanford once a week for cardio consults."

Owen listens to the guy with full attention. He also has many questions to ask Daniel, none of which relates to cardiothoracic topic, such as _What do you see in my daughter?_ Or _What is your plan for the next five years?_ But he knows it's late and it may be not the best time to continue down the list. He glances at Faith, who is sitting and listening to the conversation attentively. Her sparkling brown eyes can't hide the happiness to see the boyfriend again. Owen knows the break up is just the beginning to their enormous love journey ahead. So maybe, the wisest thing is to befriend with the guy and get to know him more. The wisest thing is to help his daughter figure out a healthy way to continue this complicated relationship if she chooses to.

"It's late Faith. You'd better drive Dr. Bernard to the hotel now." Owen stands up and offers another handshake.

"Again, it's very nice to meet you two. I admire your contributions to medicine and I would love another chance to talk with you." Daniel smiles.

Faith turns around and snorts at her boyfriend:

"No. You will be back to San Jose, tomorrow."

Owen fakes a cough to hide a smile. He sees _the Cristina demeanor_ in Faith as she talks to her boyfriend. _I may not need to worry about her at all_, he thinks to himself.

As Daniel exits the house, Owen pulls Faith's arm and whispers: "I hope you stay at home tonight."

"Yes, I will." She murmurs then grabs the car key.

Cristina throws herself on the bed after brushing her teeth and applying some lotion. Owen follows her right after. He pulls her into his arms and showers with kisses.

"Don't tell me seeing Daniel Bernard turns you on." Cristina murmurs.

"You in the bergamot scent turn me on." He chuckles.

"I can tell you like the guy?" Cristina pushes Owen a little away so she can see his eyes.

"I'm neutral. I just think: maybe I should not worry about Faith that much, because she has your personalities, Cristina. Did you see the way she talked to him? She didn't give a damn they were with us. And don't push me away." Owen pulls Cristina back to him. She curls up in his arms, her back facing him. He sneaks his hand inside her shirt, searching for his favorite toy.

"You're implying that I talk to you grumpily?" Cristina raises her voice.

"Of course not." He laughs out loud. "You're gentle to me." His fingers flicker her little nipple.

"Take your hands off me." She gently hits on his hand then pulls it out of the shirt. She turns around and looks at him. "The guy doesn't respect our daughter, Owen. He has no idea whose her parents are."

"I think it's Faith who tried to hide our identities, Cristina. She understands people may want to use her to get to us. She doesn't want a guy who takes advantage of her to get preference from Dr. Cristina Yang. She's a smart girl." Owen caresses Cristina's smooth skin as she gazes at him.

"I see. I don't think the guy will take advantage of her now that he knows we're her parents. He has passion in his eyes when he talks about hearts just like me. And I like that. But anyway I hope they can figure out their problem. Honestly I don't like her to get involved with a mentor." She sighs.

"You got involved with an attending Cristina. And you're stuck in his life. Are you regretting now?" Owen wants to test her feeling.

"Of course not, all my life I've got involved with the superiors, Owen. And we're not going back to the argument we had a few days ago, because I love you and I love our kids and I have no regrets whatsoever. I'm just worried about Faith. I hope she is as smart as me."

"Okay, I think she is very smart, Cristina. And most important of all, she has us, the best parents she could ask for. So she's gonna be fine." He smiles.

"Don't think I'm arrogant and overbearing, Owen. The truth is I understand things. The truth is I am very smart. But I would also love my children to outsmart me." She reaches her head closer to him and feels his warm breath.

"Why are you talking very politely to me? Although I love that, but I'd say I get used to you snapping at me." Owen laughs.

"You say I'm sweet but you keep telling me that I only mock and snap at you. Fine." Cristina sighs and turns around, pouting.

"Oh no, don't get me wrong. Cristina, please. I love you because you are sincere and straight forward. And you don't talk cliché." He wraps his arms around her delicate body and leans closer to her. He whispers to her ears: "I love my wife very much. Much much much much."

Cristina smiles in silence. She feels a little bit sad that Owen thinks most of the time she snaps at him. She knows she's hot tempered, she knows she doesn't express her feeling that much, but she feels herself sweet and feminine when she is next to him. She admits Faith was somewhat tough and grumpy to her boyfriend, and it's sad Owen thinks she is treating him like Faith treating Daniel. She slowly blinks her eyes a few more times before completely falls into a deep sleep.

* * *

As one of those people who have a tendency towards music, Teddy has very good ears. Her stellar ability to detect sound from a far distance sometimes disturbs the crap out of her. For example, this morning, the constant doorbell rings irritates Teddy very much. She pulls a pillow to cover her ear, trying to ignore the ring and get back to sleep. Usually Theo will open the door because he's an early bird; if not then it's Faith's turn to run downstairs and check out the stranger. Teddy and Cristina are still competing to win the sleepy-head prize of the Hunt's family.

It's probably five minutes and the doorbell is still impatiently ringing. Teddy eventually sits up, murmuring some complaints then stumbling downstairs in a half asleep form. She wonders how her mother can completely ignores the annoying sound given the master bedroom is on the first floor. As she walks past the library, she glances at the clock: 6:40 am.

Teddy opens the door, blinking a few times to recognize a familiar face:

"Bailey, what are you doing here?"

"Is Faith at home? I need to talk to her." He looks furious.

She opens the door wide then stumbles to the kitchen. "She's upstairs. Help yourself."

As Bailey runs upstairs to find Faith, Teddy approaches the kitchen. The sun is not fully risen so she turns on the light and walks to the sink. She turns on the faucet and splashes some water on her face, hoping it helps her feel more awake.

Teddy opens the fridge and looks for the bottle of milk. The fridge looks almost empty due to the flood of guests last night. It seems like every one was very keen on helping her family clean up the fridge. No bread, no oatmeal, no cereal, she reaches down to the freezer and grabs the carton of ice cream. At least, there is some of her favorite chocolate almond sweetness to wash the bitter taste in her mouth.

Teddy is taking a spoonful of creamy almond chocolate when Bailey descends the stairs, hands shoved in a dark pair of jeans.

"She's not there."

"Who?" Confused, Teddy blinks.

"Faith. She's not there."

"What do you mean?" She furrows her eyebrows, feeling annoyed by the meaningless responds from Bailey. His words just don't make sense to her slow morning mind.

"Faith, she's not in her room." Bailey sighs.

"Well, maybe she's in the bathroom? Just sit here and wait." Faith takes another spoon of ice cream in her mouth, feeling a little more awake.

"Are you eating what I think you're eating?" Bailey looks at Faith quizzically. He walks over to her to make sure he's right.

"Chocolate almond ice cream. What's wrong?" She rolls her eyes. "You want some?"

"No thanks. You eat ice cream for breakfast?" He slips out a smile. He looks totally amazed by the scene in front of his eyes.

"Anything that keeps me awake, because I'm not supposed to be here hosting a guest. I'm supposed to be in my room at this moment. It's 6:45 am, Bailey, for God's sake." Teddy snorts at Bailey.

"Oh, okay, I'm sorry. I really need to talk to Faith now. She doesn't respond to my calls. By the way, speaking of ice cream, you should just consider you are returning my favor, because if you recall, you once dumped an ice cream on my white shirt. And I let you off the hook." He smiles, standing a little bit closer to her.

With her slow morning mind, Teddy starts to remember the birthday party at Aunt April's house. It was Jasmine's birthday and all the kids were invited over. She recalls she was five at the time, and Bailey was eleven. Bailey and Tuck kept making fun of Teddy for she lost the two front teeth, unlike her twin Theo. According to them, the nickname Ugly Duckling amazingly fitted her because she smiled incredibly ugly, which was due to the lack of the teeth, which was due to her constant eating of chocolate almond ice cream.

After a while of withstanding the abuse, Teddy got really angry. She ran around Aunt April's living room, her face flushing, and she chased after Bailey and Tuck. She was eventually able to grasp Bailey's white shirt. And before he could flee from Teddy, she dumped the whole cone of ice cream onto his back. Teddy laughed out loud heartily as Bailey frustrated and ran to his mother, pouting.

"How can I forget? You caused the trouble, Bailey, you deserved that." The flashback brings her another series of laughter. "Anyway, why did you have to see Faith this early?"

"She accused me of giving Dr. Bernard her address, along with plenty stupid rants which I am completely innocent. At 3 am. I tried to call her and text her again but she wouldn't respond. By the way, I don't think she's at home." He sighs after looking at his watch.

Teddy stares at Bailey with complete burdensome before running upstairs to look for her sister. The bathroom is indeed empty. Where can Faith go at this time? Didn't she say she would spend her night at home to her dad? Teddy rushes downstairs and runs towards the entrance. Bailey runs after her, gasping:

"Wait, Teddy! Hold on!"

"What's up?" She abruptly turns around and hits him before opening the front door.

"Ouch!" Her forehead hits his chest real hard. He rubs his chest gently and grimaces: "You can't go outside like that."

"Why not? I just want to check if her car is at home."

"You shouldn't. Look at what you're wearing." Bailey pulled Teddy aside the door, looking down towards her waist before groaning and looking away.

Confused, she glanced down, and immediately realized the dilemma. As well as a comfy tank top which she had worn to bed last night, the only other thing she was wearing was a boy short. A baby pink boy short with little white dots. It' not very very short, but still, it's a boy short.

She stares at Bailey, embarrassed and angry, while he looks completely shy and frustrated. Teddy mutters:

"Oh, I didn't realize that. I was asleep. Can you go out and check if her car is still here? It's the white Volkswagen."

Before Teddy unlocks the door for Bailey to get outside, they hear the sound of the door being unlocked from the other side. Owen and Theo walk in, both smiling and talking cheerfully after their morning run.

"Dad. Theo."

Owen stares at his daughter being in a boy short with Bailey next to her. His eyebrows immediately crunch up and his face turns red.

"What are you two doing at this time? Teddy, go upstairs." Owen's voice is loud and high. Theo just stands behind his dad, silent.

"Oh it's not what you think Uncle Owen. I come here to…" Bailey stutters.

"Upstairs, immediately, Teddy!" Owen raises his voice one more time, pointing his hand angrily at the railings. Teddy just keeps quiet and rushes upstairs as fast as possible.


	7. In my veins 2

_**Thanks for the reviews, I feel intimidated by now. To post this chapter feels like I'm letting you guys down, consider it's already written. So please read and know that it will lead to an explosive chapter next time. Also, just sit tight and enjoy these family fluffiness while you can, because you will be on a roller coaster very soon. :)_

_**Also, I decided to add some graphic details to this story. So have a sneak peek at Owen Hunt and Cristina Yang's house by going to TUMBLR and look for the tag #gaucung89._

* * *

The Day After Graduation, cont. (In My Veins 2)

One of Owen's signature features is his voice. Every time he raises his voice, it feels like a storm is coming. Most of the time, he's gentle and sweet. He melts people's hearts with his giggles. But other times? God, the nurses at the pit and Owen's children know it's better to follow his orders, for Owen can become very bossy and aggressive.

Only one person has the power to rage the _Owen _storm out, and it's Cristina.

Hearing the loud yelling, Cristina stumbles out of her bed and walks toward the library. She spots Owen, Theo and Bailey hanging out near the entrance. She asks:

"Hey Bailey, what brings you here?"

"I was explaining to Uncle Owen I came here to find Faith, not Teddy." He feels much better for his godmother, the savior is present.

"Isn't she upstairs?" Cristina is confused.

"No, she's not at home. I need to talk to Faith but she doesn't pick up her phone. I'll come back in the evening. Goodbye." Bailey murmurs then exits the house. He wonders how on Earth he can think of the idea of liking Teddy. He would have been killed by Owen before he can officially ask her a date out, if he ever really likes her. Does he really like her? Bailey is not sure; all he knows for now is this feeling causes him more harm than good.

"Why are you yelling? It's 7 in the morning." Cristina asks Owen.

"Teddy wears a panty when Bailey is here. A very small one. I don't know what she's thinking. She's seventeen, for God's sake. And where's Faith? She stayed with the guy overnight. What is wrong with my daughters!" Owen shakes his head before walking into the bathroom to take a morning shower.

Teddy descends the stairs after finishing her morning routine and getting fully clothed. Everyone is already at the table, having bread and jam that Owen just bought from a convenient store during his morning exercise. She can tell her father is still upset. She explains:

"No one opened the door, and who would expect a guest that early in the morning? I was half asleep, Dad. I realized the dilemma just when you entered the house."

Owen sighs. "You're seventeen, Teddy. You know what is appropriate. And speaking of today's incident, let me remind you that I don't even want to see you wear a boy short around the house. There are men living here. There are your father and your brother in the house." He takes a sip of coffee.

"Come on, Ma wears panties sometimes! What's the big deal?" She snaps at him.

Owen turns around and looks at Cristina, doesn't know what to say next. He loves her to be sexy when there are just two of them. But sometimes she becomes so careless, and it makes it hard for him to teach his children. He can't teach her, but he sure wants to teach the kids to behave appropriately.

Cristina glances at Owen. She knows it's partly her fault that the girls couldn't care more about dressing appropriately in the house. It wasn't a big thing when the children were young, but now they are grown up man and women. Cristina pats Teddy's back:

"Sometimes I forgot so I walked out of my room in my underwear. But most of the time, I do put on a robe, Teddy. I know today you were not fully awake when you saw Bailey, and your dad understood. He's talking about the _other times_ when you watch the TV with us all."

"Fine. Let's move on. This is not a topic to talk over breakfast." Faith murmurs. She looks down and focuses on spreading the jam onto the bread.

Owen feels grateful that Cristina's got his back when it comes to talking with the children. They usually argue about many things and raising the kids is among those, but they barely let the kids see the disagreement. That's one thing he feels satisfied, because it makes his children respect their parents and listen to them.

Faith eventually arrives home and is surprised to see every one eating breakfast. Normally, the family gathers at the kitchen a little bit later, and she calculated the time so that she could be home before everyone realized her absence. Never did she know her friend Bailey came over and woke up everyone. She tiptoes to the kitchen and throws herself onto the stool next to Theo, smiling: "Morning!"

No one responds to her greeting.

"What's going on?"

"Did you come home last night?" Cristina snorts at Faith, eyes narrowing.

"I did!" Faith exclaims.

"So where were you going this morning?" Cristina continues.

"Why would you ask?"

Cristina shakes her head. "Don't promise something if you plan to break it, Faith."

"I did! I came home at three last night and just got out of the house at….five." Faith defends.

Owen rolls his eyes and slips out a sigh. "Look, I'm not scolding at you because you spent your night with Daniel. It's normal if you want to be with him. I said I hoped you'd stay at home, because I wanted you to spend your last two days with your family. You come back for only a week, Faith, and we want to be with you. Daniel came, and we were worried that you get involved again, right here, in Seattle. "

"He means he's afraid that you end up your last two days in Seattle with Daniel, sis." Theo smiles.

"I came home last night. I just had something going on…so I needed to see him this morning. Anyway I sent him off on the earliest flight to SanFran. So here I am, with family." Faith murmurs.

"Great, then this morning you can go with Theo and Teddy around the town to apply for some volunteerings at the hospitals." Cristina's eyes sparkle as she figures out the solution to the issue that has bothered her recently.

"I don't want to volunteer….Ma." Teddy exclaims.

"Why not? You need to start building your resume now." Cristina turns around and stares at Teddy, her eyebrows start to furrow.

"I don't want to make charts or wheel an elder in a clinic, Ma. I only have a month left. Please, let me just stay home."

"Well then you'll be a loser right when you enter Berkeley." She snorts at her youngest child.

"It's not healthy just to stay at home and watch TV all day, Teddy. Be productive." Owen gives Teddy a stern look.

"I really don't want to volunteer any time soon, Dad." Teddy murmurs.

"Well then, go find a job and work!" Cristina raises her voice.

"Ma, I studied hard, I got full scholarship to Berkeley, can't I just have a month off to do what I want?"

"Look at Theo, he's all prepared for college. If you're in premed, you need to be ready now."

Teddy looks at Theo angrily. He gently raises both of his hands, implying he's also suffering in this conversation. She exhales deeply, gathering all the courage to continue arguing with her parents.

"I honestly don't want to study premed."

"Then why did you get yourself into AP Biology and AP Chemistry and all other courses?" Owen asks her, his face is full of surprised.

"Because I can do well in whatever I want to. They are not hard, Dad. But that doesn't mean I love Biology."

"Then what do you want to study? Tell me, what do you see yourself in four years?" Cristina stares at Teddy with a challenging countenance.

"I don't know…I really don't know. I'll figure out eventually." Teddy purrs her lips.

"Well then go work on something in the meantime. And before you figure out what you want to do, just please complete the premed track. You'll be behind everyone once you don't have something to pursue, if you're in Berkeley."

"Fine. I'm always the black sheep of the family. I'll go find a job. I have no idea why everyone is snapping at me today. Friendly reminder that Faith is the problem, not me. And Faith, Bailey looked for you today, at 6:40 am. He made Dad yell at me, just so you know." Teddy stands up, signaling a surrender then leaves the kitchen for her room. She shuts her door angrily.

* * *

Owen decides to leave his shift earlier than other Saturdays. Normally, he tends to stay one or two hour longer after April Kepner takes over the pit. As good a trauma surgeon as she is, Owen still considers this little woman his student. She is, in fact, still his favorite student, for teaching her also brings him many valuable lessons about life.

But today, Owen signs out all of the computer work, grabs his coat then leaves the pit at five. He wants to spend some time with his beloved dilemma family, especially with his smart daughter Faith, for she will be leaving tomorrow night back to Stanford. The house has been less lively since Faith got to medical school for a year, so having her back home is truly exciting. Thinking about his adopted daughter, now a beautiful girl who is going to be a second year medical student, Owen can't help but slips out a proud smile. He can't wait till the day of her White Coat ceremony. He would be there, observing his daughter wearing a fresh white coat with her name on the right chest and taking the Hypocratic oath. Some people dislike Stanford for hosting the White Coat ceremony in the second year, but Owen thinks it's a wise decision. The institution subscribes to the belief that students must earn the honor of having a white coat bestowed upon them, and he absolutely likes it.

As Owen walks out of the hospital, he inhales deeply the refreshing air of a clear, beautiful afternoon. He just realizes how relaxing it is to leave the place only two hours earlier. Maybe he's older now. He's aged. Theo recently makes fun at Owen for losing weight, despite his effort to run every morning with his son. Theo criticizes that there must be something wrong with Owen's skill in exercising, for he just becomes more muscular and gains weight healthily, in spite of his father.

Jackson catches Owen right at the parking lot.

"Dr. Hunt!"

"Hey Avery, what's up?" Owen cheerfully greets his coworker.

"There's a change of plan. I need you on board with me for the upcoming bid. Most potential bid for the last ten years." Avery smiles, his eyes sparkling.

"What happens to Shepherd?" Owen gives Jackson a quizzical look.

"Ok, long story short, he's on the board and I'm on the board. And we have sort of different opinions. So the Foundation decides that I should invite you to avoid the conflict of interest among board members."

"The Foundation is your mother and your family, Avery. Anyway, I'm really glad I'm independent from you guys, Grey Sloan board members. So what's the plan?"

"We can discuss later. Just giving you a heads up."

"Alright, see you later." Owen climbs onto his truck and starts reversing the car.

It takes him forty minutes during the rush hours to arrive home eventually. To Owen's surprise, he sees Cristina's car parking in the front garage. It's strange of her to be home this early, but he's glad anyway, they can spend some more time together as a family.

"Cristina? Kids?" As Owen opens the door, he yells out excitedly, just like he often does every time he's got a chance to go home early. Checking out who is at home is a thing Owen enjoys very much, for most of the time he comes home late when everyone already has dinner and is working on their own thing.

"Hey honey, how's your day?" It's Cristina cheerful voice echoing from the kitchen.

Owen rolls his eyes as he loosens the tie and strides to the kitchen. Did she just call me _honey_? This is precious, it happens once every three years.

"Wonderful, how's your day, _honey?" _Speaking with his playful voice, Owen wraps his large arm around Cristina's tiny waist, leaning over for a kiss.

"Can't get any better, honey." Cristina grins. She helps him loosen his tie and offers to bring his suitcase to their bedroom, to Owen's amazement. The smell of the soup on the stove even surprises Owen further. He comes over the stove and gives the soup a stir.

"What's the occasion, Cristina? My birthday is not until the end of August."

Cristina is tying her hair to a high bun in her bedroom. She had an amazing work day performing a heart surgery and meeting a very important person to the Institute's business. Her day couldn't be better. She also thought randomly about Faith and her boyfriend, thinking their love was rather cute. She somehow wanted Faith to make it through with Daniel, because Cristina felt her own love story with Owen reviving through Faith's story. The only thing that mattered was the way Faith coldly demanded Daniel, and for some reasons Cristina didn't like it last night. Consequently when Owen compared her to Faith, she was really sad. So she decided that she would change her manner for him every time she is aware of it.

"Nothing, _honey._ It's just canned soup being reheated. Teddy made some dinner for us before going out." Cristina walks to the kitchen, smiling.

"What's with the_ honey _and the smiling, although I absolutely love that?" Owen chuckles.

Cristina just grins mischievously. She watches Owen walking to the bedroom to take the shower with content. Well, he looks a little bit older, a few more wrinkles pop up on his eyes, and he seems a little thinner, but she loves him no matter what.

The front door opens abruptly and an incoming sound of laughter enters the house. Faith and Theo just arrive home, and they both look satisfied with a handful of shopping bags. Theo throws the bag on the couch in the living room then rushes to the smell of the clam chowder soup. He dips his pinkie quickly into the soup then licks it enthusiastically. "You're cooking, Ma?"

"It's canned soup. I just heat it up." Cristina murmurs as she pours out the soup on a big glass bowl.

"I knew it." Theo beams at his mom. Faith comes by the kitchen to help her mother placing out the food on the table.

Owen comes out from the shower, feeling refreshed. He rubs his hands excitedly as he glances at the tempting food under the yellow shade of the kitchen lights.

"What about some Sauvignon Blanc, Cristina?" He walks over to get two glasses and fills them with wine.

"Sounds great, _honey." _Theo and Faith look at their mother suspiciously. They rarely hear her calling Owen honey, and they know normally she tries to get something from him when she flirts him.

"What do you want from Dad, Ma? I detect something dangerous in your eyes." Theo makes fun of his mother.

"See, even your son realizes something's abnormal in you today." Owen turns around, laughing out loud.

"Nothing, I'm still me. Just enjoying my day." Cristina exclaims uncontentedly.

"Where's Teddy?" Faith asks as she sits into her chair.

"Uhm, Teddy texted me that she would be home late tonight and she would have dinner outside." Theo murmurs.

"She cooked and she left, that's hilarious." Faith can't hide her disappointment.

Owen, Cristina, Faith and Theo don't mention Teddy anymore. They know she had a rough morning being lectured out of the blue. She was sad, but she still cooked for everyone before leaving home. Owen's heart just sags a little bit when he thinks about his little daughter. Teddy is lively, tomboyish, careless and naturally cheerful, but she always cares about everyone in the family. Faith is passionate in bringing joy to people around her: her parents, her siblings, and her friends; and Owen believes that personality of Faith is a lot like his.

"So what did you guys do today?" Cristina asks the children.

"I applied to volunteer for a non-profit primary health clinic, Ma. I think I like the place. They are overcrowded with uninsured people." Theo tells his mother about the day with excitement.

"That's good, you can see many rare diseases and meeting poor people, which mean you can learn a lot about medicine and patient care. That's very good to put in resume." Cristina comments, her mouth gulping a big piece of chicklen.

"Cristina, it's not about having something to put in the resume. It's about he wants to help the less fortunate. It's important to have the correct incentive of the volunteer." Owen turns to his wife, slightly crunching up his brows.

"I know, Dad. I know what I'm doing." Theo grins.

"I know that, _honey._ That's why I mentioned patient care in there. I'm sure he'll learn many valuable things from the volunteer." Cristina defends her previous sentence, not forgetting to put a _honey_ in between the words. She is trying to show him love even when she disagrees with him.

"Okay, Mom, what is it about the honey? You're very strange today. You're unnaturally…happy." Faith chuckles as she takes a spoonful of clam chowder.

"Oh, I know it, but sorry, _honey, _you can't trick me into leaking any information about this upcoming bid this time. I'm not even bidding with Jackson." Owen smiles, his hand gently strokes Cristina's cheek. He feels very satisfied that he figures out her incentive behind the word _honey._ Even though he has to lie to her about being on board with Jackson, he's glad that his wife cannot trick him into any lust trap again.

Cristina feels very upset that everyone finding her calling Owen _honey _strange. Based on her children's reactions, is it true that all these years she's been treating him badly? She stands up, groaning:

"Enough. What's wrong with me calling you honey? I don't freaking care about your project, Owen. I'm just trying to improve our marriage." Cristina pouts.

Owen looks up at his wife, his face half surprised, half amused. He holds her hand and pulls her down the chair, smiling:

"Oh, I'm sorry then, _honey. _Forgive me?"

"Too late, Owen. You won't hear me call you honey again in another three years." Faith and Theo bite their lips to avoid a hysterical laugh at their pouting mother. Owen stands up and pulls Cristina to the bedroom. He winks and Faith: " Can you do the dishes, Faith?"

"Sure, Dad. Just enjoy your time with your honey." She chuckles.

* * *

_**Please review. It means a lot to me. Other than those who actively give me thoughtful feedback, where are my dear Nein, Annamaria and plenty anonymous guests? Where have you been all my life?_


	8. In my veins 3

_**Thanks for the reviews guys. And I'm glad some of you checked out my Tumblr to have a sneak peek of Crowen's house. More pictures of the house will be posted as the story unfolds._

_**You know I'm a frequent updater. First of all, I'm very fortunate to have a complete free summer, that's why I write really fast. Also, as a reader, I have a habit of reading any book all at once. So I figured many of you would love to read the story continuously and have all the chapters connected in your head. For this fanfic, I try to update one chapter every other day. So if you love the story so far, please follow it, or follow me, or favorite the story (how come I only have 2 favorites? Come on, based on my statistics I should have more favorites *sobbing* ) and of course plz review. I don't care when I receive it. The story may be 2 yrs old but if I get a review from you it still makes my day happy :)_

_**Last but not least, plz enjoy the chapter :)_

* * *

The day after graduation (cont.) In my veins 3

Faith descends the stairs to grab a cup of water in the kitchen. Glancing at her parents' bedroom, she sees the door is wide open. So she enters the room.

"Mom? Where's your _honey?" _

"In the library. What's up?" Cristina shifts her sight from the book to her daughter.

Faith climbs on the bed and lies down next to her mother. She stares at the ceiling, hands on the forehead, sighing: "What should I do, Mom?"

"The project? Of course you should choose cardiac sarcoma. It's much more interesting than the diabetes trial. Plus you are one of a few to be offered, why would you let it down? I can't understand you." Cristina complains.

Faith turns over to her mother and rolls her eyes. "Geez, I accepted the cardiac sarcoma research, are you satisfied now? I'm talking about…Daniel."

Cristina cheerfully smiles and ruffles Faith's black hair, which happens to be auburn at the moment. "That's my girl! So what about Daniel? I thought you kicked him back to SanFran already. By the way, how old is he?"

"I did. He's 35, Mom. But he's good looking. He looks just like he's 30."

"Uh huh, I thought he was 30. But God, he's 35? That's 12 years older than you!" Cristina murmurs.

"It's not about the age gap. It's about the conflict of interest. How did you manage to date Dad when you were a resident?"

"Honestly, I would say we were among the few lucky couples. Having a relationship with a superior is very discouraged, and eventually a policy was generated in the hospital that forbidded any relationship between superiors and subordinates."

"Stanford doesn't have such policy. But I understand the nature of the situation. It's really…complicated." Faith sighs.

"Uh huh, you or Daniel may get into troubles for that. You may lose the opportunities that you deserve, because people gossip that Daniel gives you the favor. Let's say that you're into cardio, but in some situations Daniel can't pick you because you're his lover, and gradually you will feel it's totally unfair, and you realize you're compromising your education."

"Then why did you choose to love and date Dad anyway?" Faith furrows her eyebrows.

"Because I love him. See, that's the problem. You need to weight all the pros and cons of this relationship then make a decision."

"I don't want to date him in secret, Mom. I want us to hold hands and walk around the campus, visit the bookstore and grab a coffee at Starbucks together." Faith's eyes are teary.

"That's a con."

"He also wants to be in a relationship. I think he kinda wants to marry me. But a secret marriage? I don't want that. I want our love to be widely celebrated. I guess that's another con."

"Let me tell you another con: He's 35. If he wants to be serious with you, he probably wants a child very soon, because many men want families at that age. Also, you should consider the age gap, too. You're 23, young and free and wild, you want to explore things. On the contrary, Daniel may want to settle down, because he's been there, done that. You may think that it's not a big issue. But when you get to 40 and he's 52, it will become a big issue. "

"We have passion about many common things, Mom. I think we're okay in that perspective."

"Faith, many people can fall in love, but not so many people can cure a patient or hold a scalpel and remove a tumor. Think wisely, Faith. It's your life, your education, your career we're talking about." Cristina gives Faith a stern look.

"It's also my love we're talking about, Mom. I think he's the love of my life. I wasn't drunk when I tattoed his name on my chest, Mom. I really love him." Faith sighs.

"I know…I know… it's the only pro, and it outweighs all the cons, doesn't it? I know what love is, it turns us upside down no matter how smart and cold we are." Cristina purrs her lips, acknowledging the fact that she was no better than Faith.

"You're talking about Dad. He makes your life upside down." Faith cheerfully smiles.

"Uh huh, funny I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon, and your dad stole my heart. Anyway, think about it carefully, Faith. And I'll support you no matter what you do. If you can be in love with him secretly until you're no longer involved with him academically, then you should go ahead and follow your heart." Cristina smiles back at her daughter.

"Thanks Mom. I love you." Faith turns around and hugs Cristina.

"You and I, we are smart. We will always figure out what to do, sweetie."

* * *

Owen is sitting in his favorite corner of the library. He loves to use the computer at the smaller desk, where he can turn around and see all the pictures of the people he adores. There is a picture of Owen and Cristina's wedding. There's also a picture of him and his wife during a surgery that was taken by a resident. Scattered around those two are portraits of Faith, Theo, Teddy along with a few other wonderful moments that he could captured. Every time he is stressful about work, he simply looks at this wall full of pictures, then he feels he's one of the luckiest guys to have a beautiful family.

There's a gentle sound of the front door opening. Owen glances at the clock which indicates 11:25pm, then looks out to the shadow that is sneaking into the house. The little frame of Teddy tiptoeing past the library makes Owen chuckles. He fakes a serious countenance and raises his voice:

"Teddy, can you turn on the light?"

Teddy freezes for a second. She turns on the light of the hallway then reluctantly walks inside the library to her father, who is looking very terrifying now.

"You're not sleeping yet, Dad?"

"Come here, Teddy." Owen can tell his face really frightens her.

Teddy slowly walks towards him. She rolls her eyes, wondering what other lecture her father can give her at this time. Owen holds her hand then pulls Teddy closer next to where he's sitting. He hugs Teddy's back:

"How's your day, sweetie?"

Faith is surprised by her father's shift of mood since the morning. She wonders what happened at home during her absence that turned Owen back to his delightful manner.

"I went around the town, looking for jobs then hung out with my friends."

"You don't have to rush in finding a job, you know? Your mom and I just want you to have an active summer. You're a good girl." Owen feels guilty for all the lectures that had been poured on his little daughter this morning by him and Cristina. Especially when she made the dinner for them before going out, he wants to make up for Teddy.

"I know, Dad." Teddy quietly answers.

"Do you still have money?" Owen looks at Teddy, half smiling.

"To be honest, I still have some. But any money from you is greatly appreciated, Dad." Teddy grins.

"Alright, how about this?" Owen pinpoints to his right cheek. Teddy wraps her arm around his neck then gives him a big kiss at where he pointed. Then she rapidly reaches for the wallet on the desk and gives it to Owen with a bright grin on her face.

He takes out a hundred dollar bill and hands it to Teddy. She jumps in excitement: "Thank you! You're the best dad! Goodnight!" then runs upstairs. Owen smiles and shakes his head, knowing that his heart is controlled by the women of this family.

Teddy dips the bill into her pocket, and then composes a serious look before knocking on her sister's room.

"Come in." There's a loud yell from inside.

Teddy opens the door and pokes her head into Faith's room. She groans: "Bailey wants to tell you that he didn't leak the address to Daniel and you're so wrong in blaming him. He also wants you to know that he's worried about you and that he's expecting a call from you. He wants to know if he can help anything."

Faith was lying face down on her bed, listening to some relaxation music. She looks over her shoulder, eyes gazing at her little sister. "I bought you a pair of jeans. Go check it out."

Teddy can't keep the sulking look anymore. As long as she hears about the pair of jeans, she returns to her natural cheerful manner. "You did? Yay! You're my best sister. Wait, is this for the graduation present? That means you also bought Theo one?" Teddy removes the jeans from the bag.

"Geez. I bought two movie gift cards for you last night already. It's in my wallet. The jeans are….extra, just for you. So don't tell Theo." Teddy can tell her sister felt pitiful for her this morning, hence the pair of jeans. But who cares, she is over the moon that everyone is giving her presents out of the blue. That makes tonight one of the best nights in her life.

"Thanks, sis. I love you." Teddy jumps over her sister's bed and hug her.

"Don't tell me what?" Theo is just right at Faith's door, as he hears the noise from his sisters.

"Theo,you have a rival." Teddy warns her brother.

"Rival what?"

"There's a guy whose name is Jason. He's Jasmine's friend, and I think he likes Jane very much."

"How do you know?" Theo looks horrified at the news.

"I just hung out with Jasmine, Jane, Jason….and Bailey." Teddy whispers.

"Bailey?" Faith turns around, staring at her sister. Theo walks into the room and closes the door. He jumps on the bed to join the conversation.

"Ok, this is what happened…" Teddy starts to tell the story of her day after the yelling from their parents. Of course she skips all the parts that she rather keeps to herself…

* * *

_Teddy tried to finish the breakfast as soon as possible, then she angrily rushed upstairs and closed the door. How come everyone just yelled at her and lectured her, all at once? It all started with the unusual doorbell ring at 6:40 am. It all happened because of Bailey. Geez, she and Bailey had never got along before, and she would never ever try to get along with him. He was the cause of all the troubles to her life since she was born. Had he not been Faith's best friend and Theo's good brother, Teddy would have never communicated with Bailey._

_She pulled out the book Sans Famille (Nobody's boy) by Hector Malot and continued on the page she left off two nights ago. The story was very sad in general, but Teddy was reading the part when Remi' realized that Vitalis, Remi's companion, had died in the snowstorm. The man, who treated Remi with love and care, and who Remi considered his father, left him alone in the world again. Teddy couldn't bear when she read this chapter of the novel. Her great sympathy of Remi turned into real tears falling down from Teddy's eyes. She suddenly related Remi to her, feeling that she was also so lonely in her own family._

_Teddy thought about how she was always the black sheep of the family. Faith always got everyone's adoration because she's smart, lovely, and caring. Theo also got attention from her parents since he was the only son in the house, and they wanted to make sure he is loved equally compared to his sisters. It only came to Teddy that her parents complained about most of the time. She graduated the third, while Theo the second, and Faith valedictorian. She liked to watch drama shows while her siblings enjoyed watching surgery recordings with her mother. Things could go on, but anyway, she felt that she was completely left out by her own family. She hated the legend that her mother, the renowned Dr. Cristina Yang and her father, Chief Owen Hunt passed on her and her siblings. She hated it more that Faith and Theo naturally loved and tried to maintain the legend._

_Teddy's tears continued to fall down until it became streams of water on her face. She could feel the saltiness from the tears on her lips, but she wouldn't care about it. The tears ran down her neck, wetted the shoulder of her shirt and her pillow as well. Teddy just wanted to lie still like this forever. She hates being pathetic but she couldn't help sobbing and whining about her life at that moment._

_There was the sound of the doorbell. Teddy insisted on lying, hoping that someone would open the door. But the stranger kept ringing the bell for three minutes already. Probably Faith and Theo had left. Sighing, Teddy stumbled out of bed and got downstairs. She stopped by the restroom to wash her face, but Jesus, it was all red and swollen. And the right shoulder of her shirt was completely damp. There was no way she could hide her crying. She felt terrible._

_Teddy opened the door to see Bailey. He was looking down, checking on his phone. Bailey looked up, surprised and confused to see Teddy's face. He concerned about her._

_"What's wrong, Teddy? Are you hurt?" He asked her._

_"Why would you care? Faith is not at home. For God's sake, what do you want to tell her? Tell me and I'll tell her!" Teddy yelled at Bailey. She hated him for he was the ultimate cause of her cry, and now she hated him even more because he witnessed her in a vulnerable form._

_"It's between me and Faith, I want to talk to her directly." Bailey stuttered. His heart sag when he saw her eyes swollen and her face flushing._

_"Fine, then come back at 12pm. She'll be home by then." Teddy groaned then closed the door abruptly to Bailey's amazement._

_She turned around then headed upstairs when the doorbell rang again. She tried to ignore it but the bell continued to ring impatiently. Teddy turned around and opened the door._

_"What do you want?" She yelled as she saw Bailey again._

_"Teddy, what's wrong with you? Are you hurt? Let me come in, I can check out…I mean, tell me if I can help you anything." Bailey murmured, yet he pushed Teddy aside gently so he could step inside. Without waiting for her answer, he closed the door behind them._

_"Is anyone at home?" He asked Teddy._

_"Everyone hated me so they left me for good." Teddy continued to cry again. She hated herself very much but she couldn't help. She was desperate._

_"What happened?" Bailey reached for Teddy's face and gently wiped the tears that fell down on her soft cheek. However, she shoved his hand away._

_"You caused all the problems! You came at 6:40 and my Dad yelled at me, and he told my Mom and they both lectured me about how I misbehave in the family and how I was the black sheep of the family." She couldn't stand Bailey's fake concern anymore._

_"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Bailey found it somewhat amusing for her confession but he dared not smile. Teddy's tears wouldn't stop falling, and it broke his heart. It kicked him in the protection instinct. He continued to wipe the tears on her face, despite the fact that she shoved him off earlier._

_"Come in, I'll get you some water. You are dehydrated." Bailey pulled Teddy in with a concerning countenance. He felt miserable to hear her sniffing. _

_"It's my house don't tell me to COME IN." She groaned even though she followed him to the kitchen._

_Bailey poured some water and handed to Teddy. He grabbed a paper tissue and gave it to her._

_"Can I ask why were they yelling at you?" Bailey murmured with hesitation. He was afraid of another scolding from this little red head._

_"Because I wore a boy short when I saw you. And because I don't know what major I want to pursue." She replied, trying to catch a breath between the gasps._

_Bailey turned away to hide the uncontrollable smile when he thought about the boy short incident with Teddy in the early morning. He eventually managed a sympathetic look and asked her: "I'm sorry, it was partly my fault. Can I do something to make up to you?"_

_"It was your entire fault, Bailey. I could have had a safe and sound sleep and waken up to my parent's embrace and avoided their scolding. I mean, you always caused me trouble. You always teased and made fun of me when I was younger. I hate you." Teddy whined._

_Bailey wanted to argue out of this nonsense accusation but Teddy's sorrow just made his heart sag over and over. He surrendered her conviction: "Ok. My fault. Now what do you want? I can do whatever you want until Faith comes back." He tried to make a compromise._

_"She wouldn't be back until midnight." Faith purred her lips._

_"Are you serious?" Bailey rolled his eyes._

_"No." Teddy smiled, she couldn't sob any longer. What could she say; she was a natural cheerful person. She was amused by Bailey's sincere innocence._

_"Okay, so what can I do to make up all the troubles I caused to you for the last 17 years?" Bailey smirked. _

_"Do me three favors." Teddy smiled mischievously_

_"Depends. What's the first?"_

_"Do anything I want you to do today, until Faith comes back." Teddy finds this deal rather intriguing._

_"Must be something reasonable." He sighed_

_"Reasonable and humane." Teddy smiled. She ran upstairs to change her clothing and composed herself before rushing downstairs and pulling Bailey out of the house. _

_"I have no car, I need you to be my driver today." Teddy chuckled as she fastened the seatbelt._

_Bailey drove her first to a nearby Pizza Hut. She wanted him to wait outside, so he patiently waited outside while listening to his Ipod. Ten minutes or so, Teddy walked out, smiling._

_"You bought a pizza for us?" Bailey raised his eyebrows._

_"Of course not. You don't need to know. Let's move on." Teddy directed Bailey to drive over a sushi bar. She told Bailey to wait outside again. He wanted to ask Teddy what happened, but he kept silent and waited anyway._

_Teddy returned to the car in another fifteen minutes, still with a beautiful smile on her lips. Bailey looked at her and felt his heart skipped a beat. Her red braid was shining in the summery sun, and he could saw her freckles from afar. But they look adorable._

_"Where's next?" Bailey asked her as he turned on the engine._

_"Starbucks." _

_Bailey drove to a Starbucks near Teddy's house and once more waited for her outside the store. He felt really concerned now that she came out with a bigger smile than the previous. He asked her: "Okay, are you hungry or something? Did you go inside the stores and eat by yourself?" _

_"Haha, that's hilarious. I went to ask for jobs. But gladly no one accepted me." Teddy laughed out loud in delight._

_Bailey gave her a confused look at the paradox in her story. "How come you're so happy then?"_

_"Because I can feel comfortable coming back later and tell my parents that I looked for jobs as I said."_

_"It's just no one wants to hire you. Good one!" Bailey exclaimed excitedly._

_"Exactly. Now, let's head for lunch! Let's go back to my house." She smiled cheerfully then turned the volume on louder. Teddy started to sing a long a song that she loved. Bailey shyly smiled. He was glad he could hear her singing again._

_Bailey followed Teddy into the house as she pulled out the eggs her dad bought earlier the day. She composed a good, healthy and delicious meal out of egg, spinach and some frozen chicken._

_"That's…too much for us." Bailey rolled his eyes, amazed by the big meal Teddy prepared in front of him._

_"That's not for you, dude. I'm making dinner for my family. You can only have scrambled eggs and rice. Are you okay with rice? I can get you some bread instead." She looked over her shoulder and answered Bailey._

_"Rice is…good. I haven't eaten Asian food for a while." Bailey murmured_

_"Rice is delicious. My mother loves eating rice a lot." Teddy heated up the oil in the pan._

_Bailey was just sitting and quietly observing Teddy. He was amazed that she cooked for her family despite her whining about them. She was always cheerful. Smart, and cheerful. And adorable, did he ever mention that? This morning he was thinking of how problematic involving with Teddy was, but now he started to enjoy her company again._

_In five minutes or so and Teddy placed on the table two bowls of white rice with the hot steamy scrambled eggs. She also decorated the top of the bowl with some tomatoes. She put aside a dish of brown sauce, smiling:_

_"It's Japanese soy sauce. I bet you experienced it in Chinese restaurants. Also, eat the tomatoes. It's good for your health. I know many Americans don't like raw tomatoes, but it's really, really good." She beamed at him._

_"I really don't like tomatoes." Bailey grimaced._

_"What did I say? You do what I want you to do, until Faith comes back." She demanded._

_"Fine." Bailey took a bite at the tomato slice first. It was his habit to finish what he hated to do first hand._

_The food was okay. Bailey guessed it tasted much better because it was served hot. He was aware of Cristina's complete lack of cooking skill through her mother's stories, so he figured it would be fine for Teddy to cook like this. She must have learnt cooking from her father. Bailey chuckles. The food was not bad at all, it was….okay._

_Bailey offered to wash the dishes and Teddy cheerfully accepted. She sat down and continued to read Sans Famille on her couch when her phone rang. Bailey observed her pacing around the living room, talking in excitement. He wondered what was waiting him ahead for the afternoon. He couldn't wait for Faith to come back._

_"I have plans for the afternoon, if you're still in." She walked over the sink, smiling at him._

_"I'm in until Faith comes back." He groaned._

_"Which is at twelve." Teddy laughed._

_"No way." He rolled his eyes._

_Teddy came upstairs for a few minutes then walked down the stairs. Bailey was standing in the hallway, playing some game on his Iphone when she out of nowhere stood next to him. She was wearing a white satin shirt and navy pants. And she was wearing black heels, instead of sneakers. She looked more mature, yet more beautiful. He couldn't help but stare at her._

_"Where are we going? Do I need to go home and put on casual clothes like you?" He asked Teddy._

_"No, you are still the driver. You just need to wait outside." She smiled._

_Bailey drove Teddy to the nearest Bank of America. This time she let him in, given that he had to sit on the couch and pretend that they don't know each other, for Bailey was wearing tshirt and jeans. He observed her as the girl came to talk to someone in suit. Twenty minutes or so, Teddy walked over Bailey, signaling him to get outside._

_"Done.I'm gonna be a bankteller at BOA. Let's celebrate." She smiled as she fastened her seatbelt._

_"It's like eleven dollars per hour?" He wondered._

_"Yes, but I don't have to work near the heat or grease. I can just…dress up, smile and count money. I also have another means to earn money already." She excitedly told Bailey._

_"What else do you do?" Bailey furrows his eyebrows. This girl is really interesting._

_"I sell stuff on Etsy. I can knit gloves, make bead bracelet and so on." She naively responded._

_"Wow, that's very…creative of you." He admitted._

_"Uh huh, I'm the most creative in the family." She cheerfully smiled. "Let's drive to my godmother's house, Bailey. Jasmine and Jane are waiting for us. We can have some fun."_

_Bailey reluctantly volunteered to drive Teddy, Jasmine, Jane and Jason, who is Jasmine's friend, to a fair that they were excited about. He would rather spend the afternoon with Teddy, but he promised her to do anything she told him to. And now, he started to hate it. He wondered how he could easily become putty in her hand. Teddy was just like his sister Zola and his mother Meredith. They knew their cry was powerful and made men feel helpless._

_They strode around the fair and had some snacks from the vendors together. In general it was a fun afternoon, except the fact that Jasmine liked Bailey and he was so frustrated about it. Jasmine was nineteen, so she made a better fit with Bailey compared to Teddy. To be honest, he thought she was even more beautiful than Teddy, but he didn't like her. The half Asian, half Scottish descent gene in Teddy made her…not beautifully beautiful, but strangely mesmerizingly cute, in his opinion._

_Bailey wished the boy Jason interested in Jasmine to make the situation easier. In fact, Bailey could tell Jason was into Jane, Jasmine's little sister. So Teddy kept matchmaking him with Jasmine, and he was not very comfortable about that._

_Jason and the girls decided to go on a roller coaster. Bailey queued up at the ticket booth. He was about to buy five tickets when Teddy walked over to him and whispered:_

_"Just buy four tickets, Bailey."_

_"Why? Is Jane scared?" He asked her._

_"No, I don't like going on roller coaster. I'll wait down here." Teddy blushed._

_"Oh, I can wait down here with you." He smiled._

_"No, you need to be with one of the girls. It's a roller coaster and no girl would want to sit with a stranger." She grimaced._

_"Okay, are you matchmaking me with Jasmine again? I'm sorry but I don't like her, Teddy. I mean, it's not that I don't like her, I don't have feelings for her." Bailey stared at Teddy, he was upset this time._

_"What's wrong? She's a nice girl. She's a very nice sister to me. Just come and talk to her and be her friend. For God's sake we've known each other since diapers and you try to avoid her." Teddy rolled her eyes._

_"Fine, I'll ride with her this time. But just because I promised you I'd do what you want. To be honest, this is…inhumane, to me." He sighed._

_"Bailey, she's a wonderful sister, just like you're a wonderful brother to me. Don't think of this as an order. You should talk to her more and you'll find her adorable. Plus, because you feel she likes you so you've always tried to avoid her. Everyone can see that, and that's mean. Just act normal." She groaned._

_"I know she's nice. I like her as a friend, okay? Anyway, I'll buy four tickets." He turned around and paid for the tickets. His heart tenderly sagged as Teddy considered him a brother._

_Teddy found a bench to sit down, waiting for the other four to ride the roller coaster. She looked around, enjoying all the people walking past her eyes. She felt thankful that Bailey came and drove her to find jobs and help her have a joyful afternoon._

_Her friends came down finally after the fifteen minute ride. Teddy saw Jasmine wrapped her arm around Bailey's shoulder as he helped her walk to the bench. She looked terribly pale, and Teddy knew the ride scared the crap out of Jasmine. She smiled at Bailey's secret grimace to her. What she didn't like was Jason helping Jane walking towards the bench. _

_As they sat down and caught their breaths, Teddy asked Jason._

_"Hey Jason, which school are you studying?"_

_"University of Washington. I'm in the same Calculus class with Jasmine. We're sort of…close friends." Jason smiled cheerfully._

_"U of W. Hm, so he stays around Jane while my brother is off to another state. That's not good." Teddy thought to herself._

_"Does anyone want to see a movie?" Jason smiled. Bailey turned around to look at Teddy, exchanging a disappointment. She cheerfully responded: "Great idea! Let's go to see a movie."_

_They came pretty late for the upcoming show of Dawn of the planet of the apes, so they bought the remaining five tickets available. There were three seats in row I and two other seats in row J, but it would be awkward for the two guys to sit together, so they decided that Jasmine, Jane and Jason could sit in front while Teddy and Bailey would sit in the back. Bailey couldn't feel happier for the outcome._

_"Do you all want anything to eat? My treat." Jason glanced at Jane and grinned._

_"I'm good, thanks. If I eat popcorn, it will be finished within ten minutes. You don't want to see me eating popcorn." Teddy sincerely confessed._

_Jason bought some snacks for the group and they entered the theatre. Bailey visited the restroom so they didn't wait for him. When he returned to the screen and looked for the seat next to Teddy, he bought a huge bag of popcorn._

_"Extra butter." Bailey whispered to Teddy's ears as he grabbed the popcorn and put in his mouth._

_"You're seducing me with popcorn." She cast a sidelong glance at Bailey._

_"Nope. I'm enjoying this, all by myself." Bailey smirked in the dark._

_As Teddy looked forward to the screen, she noticed Jason kept bending his head toward Jane and whispered to her ears. It made her really upset, she was thinking what she could do to help her brother._

_However, fifteen minutes or so and Teddy couldn't focus on the movie because Bailey was making small but tempting gulping sounds next to her ear. She resisted until half of the movie but the smell of the butter was so good, and she glanced at him once more. Bailey knew Teddy couldn't stand not eating popcorn anymore. He bent the popcorn bag towards her and invited: "Have some."_

_"You'll regret that I eat your popcorn so fast." She murmurs._

_"Go on." He chuckled._

_Teddy started to insert her hand into the huge bag and grabbed small fists of popcorn. She acknowledged that the movie was much more exciting with the buttery popcorn. She couldn't care less about Bailey judging her eating like an elephant, because the popcorn was so good. So she kept inserting her hand into the bag and he kept bending the bag's opening towards her for easy grabbing. The popcorn quickly dissipated. Finally, Teddy inserted her hand inside the bag again, but it was completely empty. Bailey abruptly held her hand through the thin paper bag._

_Teddy was surprised at first. It was hot and lack of air inside the bag, now that his hand gripped at the opening. She could feel her hand sweating. She shook her hand so Bailey could let go of it, but he insisted on holding her hand, outside the bag. She turned around and looked at him angrily, but he just smiled then looked straight to the screen. She wanted to yell at him but she knew she couldn't. Teddy continued to shake her hand but Bailey was holding it tight, through the paper bag, of course. She tried three minutes or so but eventually surrendered. She stopped resisting him, and he gradually loosened the grip. She could feel little air entering the bag, and it made she feel much better. She tried to shake her hand and withdraw it from the bag again, and Bailey tighten the grip at the opening again. So she just sat still, with her hand in his hand, through a paper bag. They kept holding hand for the rest of the movie._

_Bailey eventually drove Teddy home that night after dropping Jasmine, Jane and Jason at Jasmine's house. Teddy stayed silent during the drive. She lowered the window glass and looked out to the dark night._

_"Why are you so silent?" Bailey asked her._

_"What was that hand holding thing? It was so uncomfortable. I washed my hand for ten minutes and can still smell the popcorn now." She turned around, snapped at him angrily._

_"That was one-one. You matchmade me with Jasmine all day so I thought I would make you feel uncomfortable in return." He tried to hide a smile and kept a serious face._

_"You keep score? You're mean, Bailey. Jasmine is nice and you are mean, Bailey." Teddy grimaced._

_"Okay, you can't say I'm mean when I spent all day do everything that you wanted." He continued to tease her._

_"Fine. You still owe me two other things. You promised me to do three things for me, and today I just asked you one, Bailey. Keep that in mind." She smiled victoriously._

_"What do you want now?" He groaned._

_"Not now, I haven't had anything in mind yet. But I'll tell you when I do."_

_Bailey stopped by an eatery with drive through lane. He ordered a burger. "What do you want to eat, Teddy?" Bailey asked her._

_"I'm good. The popcorn made me full. Well, maybe a chocolate almond ice cream cone." She beamed at him._

_Bailey ordered through the monitor. As he drove forward the window, he asked her: "Ice cream again? You just had ice cream this morning."_

_"What can I say, I'm so in love with chocolate almond ice cream."_

_"I was right when I made fun of you losing your front teeth because of eating too much ice cream." Bailey laughed, rubbing his chin._

_"My dad took care of our orals very good. There's no way I got a decayed tooth, Bailey." She shook her head._

_"So any other flavor besides chocolate almond?"_

_"I like chocolate almond, pistachio almond and tiramisu flavors from Paciugo. I also like rum raisin and rasperry and white chocolate truffles from Hagan Daaz. The ones into carton cups. All I wished was a birthday cake composed of those five flavors, but none ever granted me that wish." Teddy laughed._

_"Complicated taste." Bailey murmured._

_Teddy enjoyed her ice cream while Bailey ate his burger on the way home. They didn't talk much anymore because the music being played in the dark night was so good._

_Bailey stopped the car in front of Owen's house. He was about to enter, but Teddy stopped him._

_"It's late. What do you want to tell her, I'll pass the message onto her." _

_"Let me in." Bailey insisted._

_"Look, I know you want to talk to her, but I think it's better if you don't come in….with me." She sighed._

_"You said I can come at 12?" Bailey's eyebrows crunched up._

_"Yes, you can come in at twelve, but not…with me. My dad would misunderstand that we have something going on, and I don't want that. I have enough lectures for the day. I'm happy now. Please don't make me cry again." Teddy showered Bailey's ears with a series of reasons. He finally nodded._

_"Fine, just tell Faith that I don't give the address to Daniel like she assumed. And whatever is going on, a man that makes her cry and rant crazily like that doesn't deserve her. Also tell her that I'm all ears if she wants to talk to me." Bailey said in a monotonous tone._

_"She cried and ranted crazily at you? That Daniel really caused her big troubles." Faith sighed._

_"Uh huh, she called and texted me at 3 am like I told you. And yes, seems like Daniel made Faith miserable. But hey, it's between them. Don't pry into their problem….like you did to me and Jasmine." The last few words Bailey lowered his voice more and more. He started to regret what he said for he may cause another dilemma at the end of the day._

_"Fine, Bailey. I was trying to help. But since it makes you uncomfortable, I won't do it again." She acknowledged._

_"Thank you." He smiled gently and looked at her._

_"Thank you for a great day, Bailey. And thank you for being a good friend to my sister. You make me hate you less." Teddy grinned._

_"I did everything just to make you hate me less? I thought you were about to….like me."_

_Bailey intended to say "I thought you were about to love me", but he stopped before he let the words out. He could destroy the friendship that he built between them._

_"Uh huh, I just hate you less. I mean, think about what you did to me during the last seven teen years." She raised her voice._

_Bailey chuckled. Teddy said as if he mistreated her and discriminated her during all those times. He just nodded: "Fine. Goodnight, Teddy."_

_"Good night, Bailey. Remember you still owe me two favors." As she walked out of the car, she waved her hand._

_"I remember." He smiled. Bailey looked at Teddy slowly walking into the house. Her curly thick hair scattered in the air as the evening breeze blew up._

* * *

_**How do you like it? Hanging in there, we'll get back to Crowen soon. Enjoy these fluffiness while you can, you will hate it when you get to the drama. Hahaha._

_**Bonus: Check out Cristina and Owen's kitchen by using the tag **#gaucung89**_ on tumblr. AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW PLEASE.


	9. Romeo and Juliet

_**Hi all, thanks for the feedback. You guys are my awesome readers. Thinking about my first two fanfictions, I wish I knew how to write more slowly and depicted things in more details, because I loved the story lines of the first two ff very much. What can I say, I was a newbie and English is my second language! Maybe I'll revisit and edit them later._

_**So yesterday, you got a chance to know more about Owen and Cristina's youngest daughter. And I'm glad some of you like her a lot. So today, I'll introduce you to Cristina and Owen's only son: Theo Yang Hunt. To be honest, this chapter was harder to write because it was in a boy's POV. So let me know how you think? And wait, don't tell me you will only love Teddy. I will gradually let you know all the children before you pick the favorite child! And don't worry that I go too offshore, next chapter will be Crowen centric. Once we get a background of all the children, we will revisit the parents!_

_**Last but not least, please enjoy. There's a hint of 18+ here, so read at your own risk. And, please, REVIEW!_

Romeo and Juliet

"Faith, dinner is ready."

Hearing Theo's loud voice downstairs, Faith reluctantly stands up from the chair at her balcony that looks out over the street. She loves this little corner; it's her favorite place in the room where she can enjoy the view outside without getting out of the house. Here she catches the sight of her parents arriving home, hands in hands; or Teddy and Theo playing basketball in a beautiful afternoon. Faith recalls when her father let her choose among the five best houses, she chose this one because her room has a little balcony.

She rushes to the kitchen where the food is already served on the table. Not seeing Cristina, she asks: "Where's Mom?"

"She has to attend a banquet. She can't go to the airport with us." Teddy explains.

"That's fine. You will see me again in a month or so." Faith thinks about the White Coat Ceremony and can't feel happier.

Owen and the kids finish their dinner then start to load Faith's luggage on the car. They're on the way to the airport. Faith sits in front with her father; she's been quiet along the ride. Her mind wanders around the tattoo shop in Vegas where she imprinted herself with four letters FHDB merely a week ago. She then recalls her parent's fight that she and her siblings accidentally witnessed. Next, a nice graduation party that brought Theo closer to Jane. Faith and Teddy couldn't be happier about that fact and they made a lot of effort to join the young adults. Last but not least, Daniel came over to find her. He brought a storm over her family for the next two days, and now Faith is relieved that sunrays enter the house again.

"What a week." Faith exclaims.

"Uh huh, what a week!" Owen agrees with her.

"Hey Faith, can you do me a favor?" Teddy is sitting in the back seat with her twin. She is still looking at her phone as she raises her question.

"What is it?"

"There's a research going on at Stanford about male birth control. More specifically, they are researching an inhibitor to inactivate the digestive enzyme of the acrosome on the sperm."

"Interesting." Theo speaks up as he listens to his sisters' conversation.

"Uh huh, once exists a chemical that can inhibit this digestive enzyme, the acrosome cap on the sperm will not be able to break down the zona pellucida, and the sperm nucleus and the egg nucleus can't join." Faith explains, still with a serious countenance as she continues to look at her Iphone.

"Since when you're interested in sperm and male birth control, Faith?" Owen is completely stunned by his youngest daughter's unusual explanation.

"I'm not interested in sperm, Dad. I'm interested in the research." Faith exclaims.

"Okay, what do you need to know about that project? It seems very intriguing." Faith looks over her shoulder to ask Teddy.

"I need to know what stage the research is in, and the name of the supervisor of the project. As far as I know, he's not a senior lecturer at Stanford. He's working for a pharmaceutical company as well. And I also need to know the name of the company."

Owen, Theo and Faith all can't believe in what they are hearing. It sounds like the girl is asking her sister to steal the track of a very potential research and information of the man behind the curtain.

"Are you plotting something illegal?" Faith furrows her eyebrows.

"Of course not. You are having the privilege of accessing any project of the school, that's why I asked you. I will tell you why I need this when the time comes." Teddy cheerfully answers with her naïve look.

"What do I get in return?" Faith smiles, rubbing her hands excitedly.

"More than you can ever ask for, Faith." Teddy responds with a mischievous look.

* * *

Cristina's Institute driver sends her home safely at 11pm. Owen is working on his laptop in bed when she enters the room. He looks up to her mesmerizing beauty in the gorgeous emerald gown under the yellow shade of the lights. Owen stares at Cristina taking off the crystal earrings, wondering how she could still fit perfectly in that dress after all those years. Throughout the seventeen year span, Owen only saw Cristina in that dress five times. The first time when she was with Burke, competing against him and Jackson in buying Seattle Pres's research department. He knows the other four times must have been very important meetings as well, for Cristina's institute rapidly expands over time. He admits she is a stellar director.

"Hey honey, what are you doing?" Cristina cheerfully asks Owen.

"I'm reading the summary of the financial statements. It's about the end of the third quarter. This stuff gives me headache." He shakes his head, smiling.

Cristina stands at the entrance to the bathroom, she slowly unzips the dress, revealing her delicate back. She gets stuck in the middle of the way so she asks him for help:

"Can you help me unzip the rest?" She looks over her shoulder, smiling mysteriously.

Owen puts the laptop aside then walks over to help her with the rest of removing the dress. The strong scent of Chanel No.5 causes him to shake gently as he inhales. Flashback of the banquet seventeen years ago revive in his mind. He feels like his wife is ageless. She still takes his breath time after time.

Owen picks Cristina up and carries her onto their bed before completely unzipping the gown. He want to have some fun with his wife, but she grimaces:

"No no, Owen. You can't be brutal with this dress. It's my _business _dress. I get funded five millions every time I put it on."

"Okay." Owen sighs. He let her sit up then helps her unzip the rest of the gown, this time for real. Cristina smiles mischievously:

"Meredith complained to me that Derek was kicked off the project."

"So?" Owen gives her a quizzical look. He is still focused on the black strappy lingerie.

"It means you're on the project with Jackson again, and you lied to me." Cristina turns around and shoves Owen down onto the bed. She climbs on top of him, letting his eyes steer to the cleavage of her breasts.

"Yes, there was a change of _plan._" He lies down quietly, enjoying the view of Cristina in the hot lingerie on top of him.

"What plan?" She tilts down to give Owen a kiss.

Owen responds to her kiss passionately before he abruptly opens his eyes wide again. Cristina is tricking him into her lust trap again. He remembers the first time, Cristina tricked him to leak information about his course of treatment for a cancer patient. She was his ally at first then she realigned to be Dr. Webber's ally. There were a few more times that Owen was naïve so she could retrieve information from him. But not this time, nah nah. Owen knows a big deal is coming up and he is very alarmed this time.

"Nothing" Owen grins.

"I know what you and Jackson plan, honey. You don't need to pretend that you two are dangerous." Cristina whispers to Owen's ear then licks the secret spot that makes him goosebump.

"Tell me then." Owen gently pushed her aside so that he can be on top of her this time. He's thinking about flipping the situation over, in which he will trick her into leaking her information.

Owen puts his hand behind her body to unstrap the bra. Her breasts pop up, small and pinky. Owen chuckles. He is turned on, thinking about how playing dirty with Cristina may give him useful information as well. Still being on top of Cristina, Owen puts his index finger into his mouth and wets it to Cristina's stare. As he stares back at her lustfully, he thinks about how dirty he is right now; but he already looks like a male prostitute, so who cares anyway.

Owen slowly removes his finger from his mouth, still keeping his flirty eyes on Cristina. He starts to rub the wet index finger on her nipples and harden it. He asks her, using his warm voice:

"Who were you meeting today, _honey_?"

Cristina starts to groan but she doesn't let herself easily lose the battle.

"Some VIPs along with a State representative." Owen can tell she's breathing a little more rapidly.

"Oh, you're into politics now, _honey_?" He finds the game rather exciting because he's getting some useful information. Owen slowly removes his finger that makes Cristina's nipples harden. He gently runs the same finger vertically through her belly then the hot triangle below her abdomen. He can feel the damp from the delicate panty.

"Sort of." Cristina tries not to leak so many information even though she's feeling out of control right now.

"Interesting. My beautiful wife, who is Kraum Institute's director, is meeting a State representative. Are you lobbying for…something?" As Owen slips out the word "something", he quickly moves his hand inside Cristina's panty and inserts the same index finger to her warm hole. She groans out loud.

"Ahh… I haven't locked the door, Owen."

"Okay then." He removes his body from hers and walks over the door to lock, still with a dangerous smile on his lips. Owen leans on the door, looking at Cristina lying topless on the bed and rubs his hands: "Shall we continue, honey?"

"Maybe…not." She cocks her head up and shakes.

"Why not?" He walks over and climbs on top of Cristina again. Owen's finger resumes the in and out motion that it was doing while he whispers to her ear: "Tell me what you're doing and I'll make you scream in happiness."

"Forget it." Cristina fakes a stern look, trying to resist Owen's hotness.

"Fine, then. I have to sleep early, tomorrow's Monday." He removes all his contacts on her body and jumps out of bed, heading to the bathroom. Owen smirks as he walks away.

"Argh, Owen. I hate you. You seduce me for information." She yells out loud.

"You did that to me all the time." Owen yells back at Cristina.

* * *

Theo wakes up at 5:30 in the morning. As usual, he looks up to the agenda hung on the wall. "Shit, movie with Jane at six." He murmurs. Theo brushes his teeth and rushes to his parent's bedroom to find Owen. He really needs to talk to his dad today about the upcoming date with Jane. He's been nervous because he never officially dated any girl.

Theo looks around the room. The master bathroom door is wide open, and his dad is not in there. His mother is sleeping sound on the bed. He walks over to Cristina and shakes her:

"Where's dad?"

"I don't know." She groans, eyes shutting.

"Come on Ma, where's Dad?"

"On call room in the hospital. He had to stay overnight." Cristina pulls the pillow to her head and continues to sleep.

What a great way to start the day, now that his father is not at home. Theo intends to call Owen but it's too early, so he just gets out of the house for a morning run as usual. The light foggy atmosphere somehow makes him feel better so he respires rhythmically.

Theo returns home then takes a shower. He puts on the light blue scrub and socks, ready for the volunteer section of the week. His father was right; coming to the primary care clinic makes him feel much better. Long queue of patients, sick, old and poor gives him the thrill to act on his best and outperform himself. _Helping them erase the pain helps you alleviate your own pain._ Owen's wise words linger in his head. The more Theo volunteers, the more he realizes he enjoys the patient care aspect of medicine. He couldn't care less about medical researches like his mother or his sister.

He finally finishes his shift at two so he drives Faith's white Volkswagen home. The house is quiet, for Teddy has been working as a bank teller for three days now. Theo finds some food that Teddy left on the kitchen table; he eats them with high satisfaction then takes a quick nap. When he wakes up, it's already four. Owen's phone continues to go straight to voice mail box, so Theo ended up the idea of calling his father. He takes another shower then dresses up in a blue shirt and khakis. Teddy said blue shirt makes his eyes stand out, so he decides this is the best outfit he can wear for a date.

Theo drives to a neighborhood supermarket and buys a bouquet of flowers. He learns this rule from his dad that women deserve to receive flowers. To be honest, he was feeling okay until he comes out of the market with a bouquet in his hand. He's not sure he's nervous because of the date itself or Jane's parents.

April opens the door and cheerfully hugs Theo. He feels a little better at the presence of April's angelic smile. She invites him in and walks him to the bright and luxurious living room. It's the Avery's house, for God's sake, the one that shelters the people who hold 75% the shares of the Foundation. Although Theo has been familiar with the walls and the rooms since his diaper age, he never imagined walking into this one day to ask an Avery girl a night out.

"Uncle Jackson." Theo stands up and shakes hand with Jackson Avery as he approaches from upstairs.

"Hey Theo. What brings you here?" Jackson seems innocent at Theo's visit. He smiles and points the boy to sit down at the couch.

"I would like to invite Jane to see a movie with me." Theo replies firmly without forgetting to smile.

"Oh, you mean you want to go on a date with her tonight?" Jackson rolls his eyes.

"Yes. And I am a serious person. I respect Jane and have no plan to play around with her whatsoever. So, please don't worry that I will do anything harmful to her." Theo just spits it out, all at once. Then he realizes what a dilemma he just creates. He is lecturing the father.

April just stands by the fireplace near the couch. As she hears Theo's confession, she can see Jackson's reaction to go mute at the boy. She walks over Theo and sits down, smiling at him:

"Of course, we know you're a good boy, Theo. Your mom and dad had just prepared you so well for the meeting with the father of the girl, huh?"

"Not really. I was expecting the same reaction that my dad expressed towards my sisters' boyfriends. I was kinda rude, I'm sorry." Theo stutters. Where has his confidence gone?

April turns to Jackson. "Jackson, say something to him. He's prepared for the worst of you."

"Okay, well then, she's 16, just so you know. I hope you mean what you said." Jackson is still recovering from the surprise that this boy brought to him. "And April, can you drive the kids to the cinema?" He steers his conversation to his wife.

"They can drive themselves, Jackson. He's 17." April grimaces.

"They can't. He's not 18 yet. He's not allowed to drive someone under 20." Jackson sighs.

"Well then you should drive them. I'm busy going over the budget with your assistance and preparing the dinner." April stands up, snapping at Jackson. Theo can tell he doesn't arrive at the right time.

"Excuse us, Theo. Just wait here and one of us will drive you two to the cinema, once Jane comes down." Jackson beams at Theo. The stern look on his face hasn't disappeared yet.

"I'm sorry to take up your time. Is Jasmine at home? She can join us as well. I mean she's 19, she's allowed to drive us right?" Theo feels frustrated at the issue.

"She can drive you two, but she's not at home, Theo. Just wait here." Jackson leaves the living room and follows April to the kitchen which is a block away from the couch Theo is sitting.

Theo tries not to listen to the conversation between Jackson and April, but they are arguing intensely and he can get an idea what the fight is about. He bets the third quarter of the fiscal year at Grey Sloan is coming up, and they are stressed about the performance of the hospital reflected on the financial statement. Theo adores April and respects Jackson individually, but he can tell the responsibility of taking over the hospital and the Foundation are too heavy on their shoulders. He recalled the quietness and sadness in Jane's eyes the other night she and her mother visited Owen. Can't people just be happy like his parents?

The silhouettes of Jackson and April arguing in the kitchen keep appearing in his head as he closes his eyes. Theo notices the high pitch voice breaks down and starts to blend in with sobbing and sniffing. He's known of Aunt April as a soft person, and he wants to walk over and check out what's wrong, but he knows it's not the appropriate thing to do. Theo leans on the couch, trying to pace his breaths.

_"Come on, Theo! You must go with me."_

_Theo would never forget the girly voice of Chelsea every time she insisted him in doing something. With the same teary eyes and purred lips, she had managed him to give up his favorite toy in the day care for her as well as let her copy his Math homework when they were in grade eight. She had manipulated him since they were four, and he suffered delightfully because she was his closest friend besides Teddy. His best memories were the times they sat at the back of the classes in junior high. Teddy was small so she sat up front, but Chelsea was as tall as him and they always had fun in the back._

_The other reason Theo never fought back Chelsea when she became unreasonable was he liked to see Chelsea smiling. He was too young to know what love wass, but deep inside him, there was a protection instinct that made Theo wanted to bring Chelsea happiness. She cried many times through her phone as her parents argued downstairs. Her mother was so obsessed with the hospital work as a doctor and her father had an affair. Theo usually listened to her hoarse voice in silence, knowing that no words could help erase Chelsea's sorrow. He usually came to class the next morning, sharing Chelsea the cookies that Faith and Teddy had made. He introduced Chelsea to Teddy when they were six, and Teddy was fond of the girl. They had been good friends, and Theo was glad that he and his sister could bring the smile to Chelsea out of the swollen eyes and red faces._

_So that evening when Chelsea asked him to hang out, she used her teary eyes and purred lips to win him again. He had a lot of homework to do, but he came over her house anyway and they waited for her mother to drive them to the cinema. Mrs. Winsor came home with the tired look as usual,yet she managed to have a quick dinner so she could take her daughter to the cinema with her friend. Theo and Chelsea sat on the back, swinging along with the rhythm of the music being played. The stereo system of the luxury car was amazing. _

_Mrs. Winsor turned the volume down as her phone rang. She picked it up and started to argue angrily with her husband like every other nights. Theo didn't pay attention to what she was saying, because all he cared about was Chelsea's sad look. They got on the highway and the fight got heated even further. Out of nowhere, an 18 wheel truck from the left lane changed into their lane. Mrs. Burton hit the brake abruptly to keep the distance from the truck, and the innovative airbag system immediately popped up. It popped up to Mrs. Winsor, Theo and Chelsea's faces. She lost her sight and steered her wheeled wildly. The minivan hit the wall and fell down from 16 feet high._

_The minivan's innovative safety system saved Theo and Mrs. Winsor's lives. But they lost Chelsea. She wasn't wearing seat belt in the rear seat._

Jane descends the stairs, looking breathtakingly adorable in another blue dress. It's like she and Theo have a thing for blue clothing. She tiptoes to Theo, smiling: "Sorry I'm late. Let's go!"

"Dad?" Jane's voice echoes the big space.

Theo gestures his head towards the kitchen. Jane whirls around, seeing the shadow of her mom and her dad pacing around and waving arms, indicating another argument. She sighs then walks over the kitchen. "Mom, Dad? Who can drive us?"

Theo can see April wiping her tears from afar. She forces a smile when she sees Theo again. "Let's go Theo, or you'll be late for your movie." April gently wraps her arm around Jane's shoulder.

Theo feels like he can't stand up because of the heaviness inside his heart. He slowly follows the women out of the house, his hand still holding the bouquet of flower.

Jane stops in the middle of the hallway and turns around to look at Theo. She smiles : "Come on, Theo! Walk faster. You must go with me!"

Theo stands still for a second. He eventually walks towards, handing Jane the bouquet of flower. He stutters, shaking his head: "Jane. You look beautiful. But I'm so sorry. I really can't go with you today."

Theo paces rapidly out of the doorway. Then he climbs into the Volkswagen and drives straight to Grey Sloan hospital.

* * *

_"Incoming trauma. Candice Winsor, 42 year old female involved in a car crash accident. The car fell down from the highway of 16 feet. Critical status. Multiple blunt trauma protocol. Tachycardic and hypotensive enroute. Depressed skull fracture with a probable bleed."_

_"Get her to Trauma 1, immediately." Dr. April Kepner was in charge of the pit that night._

_" Incoming trauma! Theodore Yang Hunt, 14 year old male involved in the same accident. Fair status. Vital stable. Mutiple tibial fractures and dislocated shoulder. Intubated in the field. Foreign object near the eye."_

_April Kepner was looking down the chart when she listened to the report of the next patient. She dropped her jaw, running forward to the cart to look carefully at the red hair boy. She yelled out "Trauma 2. Page ortho and pediatrics, now! Also, call Dr. Hunt. The boy is his son."_

_Teddy was reading a book while Cristina was working on the laptop in her room. The girl lied next to her mother, biting her nails as she was following an adventure of the characters in the book. Suddenly she sat up, gasping heavily._

_"What's wrong Teddy?" Cristina looked at Teddy, eyebrows arched up._

_"Ma…I felt like I was falling from a roller coaster." Teddy put her hand on the chest, feeling the pain coming from within._

_"Are you okay? You have heart attack? Lie down." Cristina put her hand at the back of Teddy's neck and supported her as she lie down. She loosened the clothing on Teddy's body then grabs a phone to dial 911._

_"No, don't call 911. I don't have heart attack. Just a sharp chest pain that went up and disappeared." Teddy closed her eyes, hand still on the heart that was pacing wildly. "Ma. I really feel like I fall down from a roller coaster."_

_As Teddy tried to gain her normal breath, Cristina ran to the kitchen to get her some water. Owen rushed to her, eyes teary, scared and frustrated. He gasped: "Theo got in a car accident. The car fell down from 16 feet high. Multiple fractures and dislocated shoulder. He was intubated in the field."_

_"Oh my god Owen, oh my god." Owen held Cristina tight as she gripped his hand and sat down on the nearest stool. Her eyes started to fill with tears. Owen yelled out loud: "Faith! Teddy! Come over immediately!"_

_The girls quickly resumed at the kitchen to see her mother sobbing. Owen took a deep breath before speaking up: "Girls, I need you to calm down, okay? I want you to calm down. Theo has been involved in a car accident and he's in the hospital now. He's in a surgery. But he's stable. We will come and visit him altogether, okay? But you need to calm down."_

_Faith pressed her mouth to prevent a loud crying but Teddy just stood still, staring at her mother. She figured out why she had a chest pain and felt like she was free falling from a roller coaster. She hugged her mother, patting her back: "Mom, mom, please be okay."_

_Teddy ran into her parent's room to grab her mother handbag that she knew the wallet and cellphone were inside. She ran out and held her mother's hand, leading her outside where Owen started up the engine. Faith managed to close the door, hands trembling. They got into the car, trying to stop crying and remained calm._

_The whole family was not allowed to enter the galleria even though Owen and Cristina persuaded Dr. Bailey to let them in. They sat at the waiting room, waiting anxiously for someone to come out and update the status. Owen paced around then sat next to Cristina, holding her in his arms and consoling her. _

_Teddy held Faith's hand as her sister was still sniffing. She whispered: "Faith. I had a chest pain. I felt like I was free falling from a roller coaster."_

_"What are you talking about?" Faith gazed at her sister, confused._

_"I think…when Theo fell, I felt like I was falling. But he will be fine." Teddy reassures Faith._

_Faith longed at Teddy, then pulled her closer to her chest and hugged._

_Callie rapidly approached Owen and Cristina. He stood up, eyes all red and swollen: "Is he okay?"_

_"The surgery went very well. I repaired and sealed all the fractures. He got a moderate piece of glass planted near his left eye, but no eye injury. You can all come and see him now. Oh, and he was holding this tightly when he got in."_ _Callie handed over Owen a few blue crystal beads. He furrows his eyebrow:"What is this?"_

_Teddy looked over the crystal beads that were sparkling in Owen's hand. She dropped her jaw: "It's from Chelsea. Was Chelsea with him? Is she okay, Aunt Callie?"_

_"The girl? Chelsea Winsor? She didn't make it to the hospital." Callie shook her head._

* * *

Theo parks the car then strides over to the hospital. He stops by the familiar nurse station that he used to play around when he was little. "Mrs. Thomas. Do you see my father?"

"Dr. Hunt is covering the pit, Theo. How can I help?"

"Can you please page him and let him know I'm here?"

Owen receives the message then he walks over to the nurse station. He smiles cheerfully as he sees Theo. "Son! How's your date going on? Why are you here? You're supposed to be with her until ten or so."

Theo just stares at his father without uttering a word. He looks sad and restless.

Owen realizes the difference in Theo's eyes. He puts a hand on Theo's shoulder, whispering "What's wrong?"

"I came to Jane's house and her parents were arguing, and April was about to drive us to the movie. But I ran away. I couldn't, Dad." Theo sighs, his voice sobbing.

"I see. Look. You'll be fine, Theo. Jane and April would understand what was going on. You hear me? Sometimes the memories come back, but you don't let it affect you. Because you're over it."

"I feel like…I really feel like I can't move on, Dad. It's been years and I feel the same pain." Theo stutters.

"No. You recovered from it. Slowly but surely. Sit here and wait for me, I'll be done in half an hour. Just leave the car here and we'll drive home together. Okay?"

Theo nods quietly. Owen hands him a pill of Xanax, the short term anti-anxiety relief medication.

_The last scene in his mind was Chelsea's sorrow eyes. She unbuckled the seat belt so that she could lean on his shoulder as she listened to her mother arguing. He couldn't see her anymore once the air bag blew up and covered his sight._

_The last words he heard was from Chelsea's mother crying out loud: "God please save us!"_

_The last thing he held was her wrist as they fell freely down to the ground. He tried to keep her but he couldn't._

_The last thing remained in his hand were the blue crystal beads broken apart from Chelsea's bracelet._

_My, he didn't have an idea what love was. He just thought Chelsea was his beloved best friend, very best friend._

* * *

Owen unlocks the door and enters the house with Theo following him behind. Teddy is standing at the kitchen waiting for them. She pulls Theo onto a chair then sits next to him. She gently smiles. "Your favorite dish, Theo. Let's have dinner together, I haven't eaten."

"I ran away, Teddy. I didn't go on the date with her." Theo sighs. He sits down and takes a sip of milk.

"Jasmine called me. I think they would understand. You suffered, Theo. You were the trauma. You need time to completely heal."

"It's been three years and I thought I recovered, until today."

"Jane is a great girl. She would understand you. It will only be a scar in your heart, eventually." Teddy reassures her brother.

* * *

Owen closes the bedroom doors, stretches his shoulders then loosens the tie. He throws himself on the bed and exhales deeply. Cristina is leaning on the headboard. She ruffles his hair gently. "How's Theo now?"

"I gave him a pill of Xanax and he left his car at the hospital to drive with me."

"He's not ready for the girl, Owen. Poor little Jane. She must be confused at his behavior."

"Lay here with me." Owen pulls Cristina hand and she lies down next to him. She turns around to hug him. "I'm scared, Owen. I'm afraid that he would want to join the army again."

"He was like me, Cristina. Even though he wasn't diagnosed with PTSD, he mentally suffered a great deal. He may even want to join the army again, but we will talk him through. He has us. We'll help him." Owen gives his wife a tender kiss on her forehead.

"I don't want him to join the army, Owen. I don't want to. Our children and even we have suffered enough traumas. I can't deal with another loss or grief." Cristina can feel her eyes wet. Keeping an eye on the children and supporting them when they are desperate have made her heart softer over the years.

…..

Theo walks to his room and lies down on the bed. His parents had showed him how to cope with grief and he's been recovering well. He used to fake his cheerfulness so that his parents would stop worrying about him; but the last twenty months he really found joy again in school, in family and in his crazy sisters. Letting them call him a trauma wasn't longer an issue. Losing today battle doesn't mean he loses the war. He'll get on his feet again, tomorrow.

He just wants to allow himself the rest of the night to grieve. Just one more night.

Theo and Teddy were never able to ride a roller coaster again.

_The last song he listened to when he was with Chelsea was Romeo._

The lyrics suddenly fit him perfectly. Jane, can you understand this?

_You've be looking for meaning  
Did you like what you found?_

_Forgive me, I've been lonely  
But it is not like I don't know my way  
but I don't know my way_

_Oh look at you all shining  
And didn't you do well, well, well, well  
For a long time_

_I could not tell you my secret  
I don't know where to go from here_

* * *

_**I urge you to try out the song "Romeo". It inspired me to write this chapter. And it's been in my head for 3 days now._


	10. You and Me

_**Happy birthday Ohsnap72! I'm glad I got to know you through the course of my writing fanfiction. You are sweet and adorable, I wish you a beautiful new year ahead._

_**Thanks for the reviews, guys. Now we're back to Crowen, yay. Please enjoy this chapter and review after, knowing that you bring some sunshine to my day:)_

YOU AND ME

4 weeks later….

Cristina sings along the radio as she drives from Kraum Institute to Grey Sloan. She's having a lunch date at the hospital cafeteria with Meredith. She couldn't be happier, thinking about the favorite chicken salad she enjoyed every day when she was a resident.

"How's Theo doing?" Meredith asks as she sits down on the chair next to Cristina.

"Better. He was down for three days but I think he gradually recovered. Owen just helped the kids moved into their apartment in Berkeley last weekend. He said Theo was not grieving anymore during all those times. The boy still doesn't want to talk to Jane or talk about Jane, however." Cristina shakes her head, thinking about the traumatic son that made she and Owen worried the most.

"I feel for him, but I feel for Jane, too. I mean, Theo and Jane remind me of Alex and Izzie. He asked her out for a date then he failed his exam and he totally freaked out, remember? Izzie was upset like hell." Meredith chuckles.

"Yup. Jane would think of my son as an ass if she didn't know what happened to him. Anyway, we don't expect her to understand everything. She's 16, and she's not in the situation." Cristina gulps a big piece of chicken with delight.

April spots Cristina and Meredith having lunch at a corner so she joins them.

"Hey Cristina, is Theo better?"

"I think so. He doesn't talk much about that night. How's Jane?"

April grimaces. "She doesn't talk much about it, either. She was shocked, of course. But she's fine."

"Look, on behalf of Theo, I would like to say sorry to Jane. He just needs more time. He likes Jane, but he's not ready yet." Cristina murmurs. It is so out of her character to do this, but she thinks her son deserves a chance to be understood by the girl.

"I know. We all went through the nearly dead situation and we all lost some of our friends in the shooting, so I get it. I'll talk to Jane about it when the time comes." April reassures Cristina.

"Theo told me you two were arguing intensely about the budgeting and planning. What is wrong with the board, April?" Cristina glances at her friend.

"Don't do this, Cristina. Don't try to steal some information from us. You're our rival." Meredith warns her person with a mischievous smile.

Cristina looks at Meredith, faking a naïve countenance. She tries to hide the wicked incentive of the question. "I don't steal information from my girlfriends, Mer. I only steal information from my husband." She gives them a big grin.

"Jackson is so focused on the upcoming bid that he's completely stressed out. I have to help him with the financial aspect of the hospital along with his assistant, and that makes me stressed out as well." April groans.

"That's why I'm glad Derek is left out of this bid. You're so harsh on the men, Cristina. You should withdraw from this bid and let this hospital, which once was your shelter, a chance to expand." Meredith scolds at her friend.

"No way. I have a big plan in my mind." Cristina shakes her head victoriously.

"Can you share with your person then?" Meredith beams at Cristina.

"Of course not. I can't even share with my husband, and he's punishing me by withholding sex. Can you believe there are only two of us in the house and we don't have sex at all? I'm miserable." Cristina purrs her lip. She is so discontent with Owen's indifference in intimacy for the last week.

"I should be the one who feels miserable. We argue crazily during the day then we make up by having intimacy at night. And the sex is so good you completely forgive each other, until the next day when the fight visits you again." April rolls her eyes, thinking about her complicated situation.

"Oohhh, that's not healthy. I'm not a marriage counselor, but trust me on this one: Don't use sex as a resolution. You may think sex solves the problem but if you don't talk to each other through the issue, one day you'll end up getting a divorce." Cristina shakes her head.

"Cristina!" April exclaims.

"Trust me. That's what happened to me and Owen in our first marriage. It took us two years to learn how to communicate effectively. That's when the marriage improves, and the sex becomes hotter, of course." Cristina smiles.

"Are you coming to the White Coat ceremony this weekend?" Meredith asks Cristina after taking a big sip of juice.

"Looks like I am. Owen and I are gonna take the earliest flight in the morning then we will return the same day. We'll only be gone in less than 24 hours."

"Good, I'm so excited seeing Bailey and Faith wearing the white coat. They are good for each other."

Cristina gazes at Meredith. It seems like Derek and her friend are having no clue that Bailey and Faith are not a thing. But she doesn't bother to explain anyway.

Owen approaches Cristina, Meredith and April as he spots them from afar. Cristina whispers to her girlfriends. "Look and see how he's withholding sex from me."

"Hey ladies" Owen smiles as he sees his wife's presence at the hospital.

"Hey Owen, are you free after this? Can I have a consult with you in the on call room?"

Owen blushes as he hears her request. "Cristina…."

'Oh ignore them." Cristina waves her hand in the air. "They're married women and they know I'm talking about booty calls." Meredith and April smile awkwardly.

"Uhm, I'm really busy. I don't think I can. But you can present your case to me at home and I'll give a consult."

Owen walks away from the women. Cristina smiles: "You heard the man. He'd better give me hot sex tonight or I'll accuse him of breaking his words, and he'll be miserable about that."

* * *

Owen strides across the hospital hallways to the conference room that Jackson paged him earlier. Derek and Jackson were already there, sipping their cups of coffee and discussing about some hospital issues.

"Hey. How can I help?" Owen merrily greets his fellow surgeons.

"We need Shepherd back to our plan, just so you know." Jackson murmurs.

"I can see, and that's great. So what's the deal now?" Owen throws himself down to the chair next to Jackson.

"We've heard that Burke will be back on the bidding." Derek speaks up.

"Really, Cristina didn't tell me anything about it." Owen purrs his thin lips, surprised at the news.

"Sorry to put you in such a situation, Hunt. Anyway, your wife has managed most of the workload in the US by herself. Now that she brings Burke back, it means they are planning something really huge." Jackson continues the discussion.

"Uh huh, that's why I have to join the team, Hunt." Derek jokes, rubbing his hand and smiling mischievously. "Having Preston Burke here is like having another Cristina Yang. _The male version of Cristina Yang."_

"That's a…weird comparison." Owen rolls his eyes, staring at Derek.

"Anyway, it looks like they are strongly financially prepared for the bid. We need to make sure we have a ready and vast resource so that we can outbid the Kraum Institute this time. We can't lose like we once did seventeen years ago." Jackson shakes his head, thinking about the other banquet that Owen and he dueled with Cristina and Burke.

"Well, I don't want to be sandwiched between my hospital and my wife. I can only join you at the bidding, I really don't want to help with allocating resource and raising fund, which supposed to be the responsibility of the board, not mine. But anyway, this is what I know: Cristina met a State representative a few weeks ago. I think she was lobbying something." Owen explains.

"Hm, she gets the state's support? That's a huge step. Once the state's got her back, she wouldn't have to worry about the finance anymore. That means she's really ahead of us. She must really have a big plan behind buying this pharmaceutical company." Derek makes a logical conclusion based on Owen's observation.

"The good news is: Cristina's project must be really promising for the state to get her back. The bad news is: Preston Burke is collecting all the money from the UN and she is collecting all the money from Washington State. They are greedy tycoons." Jackson sighs.

Owen can't help but chuckle as he listens to the conversation. Despite the fact that he should support the hospital and the Harper Avery Foundation, he is really proud of his smart and beautiful wife. He suggest to Jackson:

"This is what I think: You have a foundation, Avery. And you are also on board with a bunch of badass surgeons who used to work with the Government like Shepherd or win the Madison Carter grant like Arizona. My point is: you don't have 2 people on your team like Cristina and Burke. You have….20 people. 20 doctor geniuses and financial executives. Use your resource wisely."

Derek rubs his forehead as he concentrates intensely on what Owen just said. He finally smiles as he hits the table with excitement: "Jackson, the Foundation needs to host a business gala to raise funding!"

"Excellent idea. Thank you, Hunt!" Jackson smiles.

"You're welcome. Make it big and impressive and invite all the best guys from Seattle. You should lobby with Derek and asks him to bring some government guys that he knows as well." Owen grins.

"All we need is stellar financial consultants who will help us map out an excellent plan to propose to the investors." Derek nods.

"I will work with the financial consulting group this coming week and we can host a gala at the end of August." Jackson suggests after he looks up his agenda on the tablet.

"The last Saturday of August looks great." Derek continues as he checks the board's schedule.

"Deal. The last Saturday of August. We need to hold a board meeting and explain the incentive for every board member." Jackson smiles.

"True, you guys can do it. Just count me in when we're heading to the bidding banquet. I'll help you outbid Cristina and Burke this time. I have my strategies." Owen rubs his chin as he thinks about how he will compete with his wife.

"No, Owen. You need to join the fundraising gala, too. You're not a board member but you have really good relations with the army people hence the government." Jackson exclaims.

"Sorry guys, don't push me too hard in between the hospital and my wife. I can't join the fundraising plan. I already have enough work running this hospital smoothly. Also, Sunday is Theo and Teddy's birthday. And they'll come home. I want to spend time with my family." Owen beams at Derek and Jackson. He feels excited to see his children again.

* * *

Cristina takes a shower and feels much more relaxed after a stressful working day. She walks over the kitchen, searching for some decent dinner food, but disappointed as she stared at the empty fridge. Her three children have gone to college, so there's no need in stocking up milk, chocolate almond, yogurts, fries or frozen pizza. Cristina grabs a fresh tomato, washes the fruit then takes a bite, considering it a sufficient vegetable amount for the day. She boils some hot water and searches for a cup of instant oatmeal in the cabinet. That's a good dinner, she thinks.

Suddenly, she remembers how Owen appears to be thinner over the course of the weeks. The upcoming bid absolutely affects everyone in the health management industry. But also, she traces his tired face and his weight loss to the lack of appetite that she thinks he's having recently. Cristina sighs. What's wrong with Owen? Is it time for him to step down as Chief of Surgery, shrug off some hospital work and enjoy more golfing courses? She will support him if he chooses to do so, because he seems exhausted over time.

With that thought in mind, Cristina enters the library and starts looking for a healthy-meal-delivery service. She can start off with three deliveries in a week and sees if the hot served, slow cooked food can help Owen regain his appetite. She knows her husband wouldn't mind if she brings home some take-out food from a Chinese restaurant nearby. But these takes out cartons are not any better than fast food: they contain more cholesterol and possible MSG as well.

As Cristina leans on the chair and impatiently waits for someone from the delivery service to pick up the phone, she stares at the canvases hanging on the wall. Among the happy and shiny faces of people she adores stands out the portrait of Theo, bruised and battered, with indignant and tearful eyes. He even wore a bandage on his forehead. Cristina chuckles. She recalled Owen and she took the portraits of the twins on their sixth birthday. Theo constantly misbehaved in his own party because he was fed up with the similar gifts that his parents gave him and Teddy. He was so hyperactive during the day that he eventually hit the sharp corner of a drawer and tore his forehead, hence the bandage. Owen decided to take a picture of the mischievous and troublesome boy in his true state, and that was the history of Theo's portrait hanging the wall. Thinking about her beloved son and how he was dark and twisted like his parents, Cristina's heart sags a little. She ends up the current call and dials Theo's number.

"Hello Ma?" It's Theo's cheerful voice. Probably he's back on his feet, Cristina thinks.

"Hey kiddo, how do you enjoy your apartment so far?"

"It's great. It's more spacious than the dorm. The apartment is a little further so I can walk more, which is good. And I have great neighbors here. Genius dudes and gals. Some of them are on the premed track like me."

"Cool. How's Teddy doing?"

"Oh, she decorates her room with all the crazy stuff like we're in Seattle. The only good thing is she continues to cook for me. Hahaha." Cristina feels reassured as she hears Theo's peaceful laughter. She wants to ask Theo about Jane, yet ending the idea because it may ruin their mother-and-son moment.

"Will you keep an eye on her? If she's not focused in her study she will be behind other friends. I put so much time and effort in sticking her to the desk, unlike you and Faith. I hope it's not wasted." Cristina sighs as she recall the old days teaching Teddy how to read, write and do calculations.

"I'll take care of her, Ma. I miss you." Theo sincerely confesses.

"You do?" Cristina chuckled.

"Yes, I miss you and Dad. You need to learn how to cook and make him some good food, Ma. He's gradually losing weight and he looks older. I noticed when I ran in the mornings with him."

"Okay. Are you going to attend your sister white coat ceremony this weekend?"

"I'd rather not. I want to start my study ahead, now that the material is posted online."

"I understand. Good luck boy. I'm proud of you." Cristina makes a huge kissing sound for her son to hear.

Not soon after she hangs up the phone and continues to scroll down on the menu list of the delivery service, Teddy calls her.

"Mama!" Teddy sounds as excited as she always is.

"What's up girl? How's your school and your apartment?"

"School is so-so. Apartment is great. I already signed up for some organizations."

"Good. Make sure you join Alpha Epsilon Delta in the first year. That gives you a hectic and impressive resume after you graduate." Cristina responds in a monotonous voice.

"Ma, I told you. Please let me decide what I want to do. I'm a college student now!" Teddy exclaims in discontent.

"Uh huh, you're a college student now and the fact that you still haven't figured out how your life should play out worries the crap out of me." Cristina snaps at her daughter.

"You know we sometimes call you _Tiger_ _Mother,_right?" Teddy answers in angst.

"Teddy! First of all, it's out of line. Second of all, I introduced you guys to the book in hope that you enjoyed the irony and self-depreciating humor of it; not that you guys mocked me with the image of Tiger Mother." Cristina shakes her head and sighs.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Then Teddy eventually speaks up:

"Look, Ma, I apologize for calling you Tiger Mother. I was calling to ask you about the process after a research is complete. I want to know about the aftermath of a successful research, about the marketing, the funding, the rewards and stuff. But never mind, I think I can find out on my own."

Cristina tries to make up with her daughter. "You two will come back on your dad's birthday right?"

"I really wish to, but I don't think we can. His birthday is on Friday, right? And I think both Theo and I have classes on Friday."

"Well then come back on your birthday! It's on Sunday and we can do something." Cristina insists on Teddy and Theo to come home that weekend. It's a good thing that the twins' birthday is two days after Owen's birthday and this time it's on a Sunday.

"The problem is our birthday is on Sunday and if we go home, we have to flight back in the same day and that's just so inconvenient." Teddy sighs.

"If you don't want to do it for me, at least come home for your dad. He misses you guys a lot." Cristina coldly demands.

"Alright. I'll let you know later. Bye Ma." Teddy hangs up the phone.

* * *

Owen slowly strolls into the house. He feels exhausted after a hectic shift with two blunt traumas and a meeting with the Human Resource. It was the first morning in twenty years that he woke up and didn't want to go to work. Owen had to go shopping at the supermarket and to buy some multi vitamins and started to take them daily.

There is a tempting aroma filling up the house. Owen hangs his coat on the rack then approaches the kitchen. He drops his jaw and rolls his eyes with full of suprises as he sees Cristina sitting, completely naked, on a chair at the kitchen table. In front of her are good-looking dishes of food.

"What is this? And what are you doing? Why are you naked?" Still standing away and staring at the table, Owen asks her.

"Food. _Delicious food."_ Cristina sits straight up so that her breasts pop out above the height of the table.

Owen inhales and exhales deeply. He finally speaks up: "I'm really sorry, but I don't want to have dinner. It looks good though."

Cristina yells out loud at him: "Come on Owen, it's organic, healthy food that is serving hot for you. Also, you promised me to have a consult with me!" She is upset now that he is not turned on by her nudity.

"Okay. How about this: we go inside the bedroom and you tell me about the case. I'm tired, Cristina." Owen blushes but he walks inside his room anyway. He takes away the suitcase then lies down on the bed, pacing his breath.

"What's wrong with you?" Cristina follows him. She still stands naked at the door, arms crossing over.

"I'm sorry. I'm really not feeling well. What do you want to ask me about the case?" Owen sighs.

"Patient is Cristina Yang, a middle-aged woman who has an urge to have sexual activity with her husband because she's been withheld sex for a week or so. She's suspecting that her husband, Owen Hunt, is experiencing erectile dysfunction."

Owen cocks up his head and shakes in disappointment: "I don't have an erectile dysfunction, Cristina. I don't have any problems with our sexual activity. I'm just exhausted."

She stands still, looking at him, eyes teary. Owen crooks his finger, signaling Cristina to walk over. "Come here."

Cristina walks over the bed and lies down next to Owen. He turns around and kisses on her cheek, then he moves down to her neck and her collarbone. He sits halfway up, resting his body against an elbow to continue nipping her flesh.

"That's okay if you don't want to have sex, Owen." She gently shoves Owen aside, her voice sorrow. "You remind me of Meredith and Derek when he hated her for ruining his trial, but he had sex with her anyway, because they wanted to make a baby." Cristina murmurs.

"Really? They made love even when they didn't want to see each other's face?" Owen rolls his eyes.

"Uh huh. And you're like Derek, Owen. You act as if you're doing me a favor" She snaps at him.

"I'm not. _I'm making you happy."_

"I don't need you to help me release my urge, Owen. I want us to enjoy our intercourse together. What's wrong with you?" Cristina is concerned about his lack of desire.

"There's nothing wrong. I still love you, and you look beautiful and sexy. It's just that I'm tired. I don't know why recently I only want to go home and go straight to sleep. I don't even want to have dinner." He lies down and stares at the ceiling.

"You work too hard, Owen. The upcoming bid beats the crap out of you. Maybe you should withdraw from the project." She turns around and hug him.

Owen leans his head closer to Cristina's hair and breath in the scent of citrus. He sighs. "I did. I told Jackson and Derek to let me off the hook. I will only attend the bidding, against you and Burke."

"Burke won't be coming anymore, Owen. I figured out how to handle this case by myself. You're supposed to trick me into sex so that I give you this piece of cake, but anyway, that's the good news for Jackson. You can tell him Burke won't be coming and he'll be over the moon. Maybe he can find romance with April again as well."

"April and Jackson are having marriage issues?" Owen asks Cristina.

"Uh huh. I guess the more the foundation expand, the more work is put on their shoulder. And I think both April and Jackson only want to be surgeons." She explains to him while caressing his face. It's really thinner.

"Wow, you ladies have a lot to share each other, huh. I hope you don't tell your girlfriends that I have erectile dysfunction." Owen chuckles.

"I don't. I'm private when it comes to our relationship, Owen." Cristina cheerfully smiles.

"This morning I woke up, and for the first time in decades I didn't want to go to work, Cristina. I'm also worried about me. I start to lose interest in things I'm doing." Owen sighs.

"Yeah, the kids can even tell that you're thinner and losing your appetite. I ordered a delivery service to bring us some quality, nutritious and delicious dinners three times a week, Owen. Let's go from there. You need to eat even when you don't want to. That's my order." She coldly demands.

"Yes, queen Yang." Owen chuckles. His lips search for her soft and thick lips.

"And I suggest you learn _yoga._ It's alternative to exercising and we all know it brings many positive health benefits. It also helps improving endurance, mood and appetite, Owen. You know that. So that's another order for you."

"Yes, ma'am. I will download some yoga poses for men and try them on tomorrow." Owen grins, his fingers gently play with Cristina's nipple.

"I'll tell you a secret." She whispers into Owen's ears playfully. "First tell me what do you think about _little Yang?"_

"Uhm…_I'm_ amazed that _Little Yang_ is always tight and wet every time _Big Hunt _enters. I'm surprised that you maintain _Little Yang_ very well given that you carried the twins and you aged." He smiles.

"I do yoga, Owen. It's called Kegel exercise." She chuckles.

"My beautiful wife always knows how to blow my mind. Well, except tonight…I'll try on Yoga tomorrow, honey. I need to get my fresh mind and robust physique back."


	11. The Last Lecture

_**I've received many reviews concerning about Owen's health. You guys, if you read my previous ff, you know I'm a drama writer. I can't write a story that is 100% fluffy. Plus I believe obstacles are what make love stronger. So I hope you stay with me as I tell the story of how the Hunt family members bond together to get through the storm. Good news is: there will always be happy ending in my Crowen fanfiction. So stay tuned and enjoy the ride until you see the last three words "happily ever after". :)_

_**Please, continue to review. I enjoy reading them. Special thanks to Katyoh, Ohsnap72, sophs, annamria, sue and abigail for your continuous support. Other readers: I absolutely love to hear your voice! Please don't hesitate to let me know how you think!_

* * *

THE LAST LECTURE

"Pizza and ice cream!"

Theo yells out loud as he enters the apartment he and his twin just moved in two weeks ago. His little sister, after quarreling with their mother, decided to withdraw herself in the room for two days, crying and whining and about how she was not loved in the family.

That also means Teddy hasn't fed his brother for two days. So yesterday, Theo went to the supermarket and tried to make some beef and stir-fried green beans. He gave up the idea of cooking today though, because the time to clean the greases that sticks on the floor is twice as much as the time to cook a decent meal.

Hence, pizza and ice cream on the kitchen table.

"Teddy! I bought you Hagan Daaz. If you don't come and eat I'll have them all! You know I also love chocolate almond." Theo yells once more as he sits down in the kitchen, enjoying his dinner. He grabs the remote and turns on the TV from afar.

Teddy comes out with a sulking look.

"Give me ice cream."

"Have some pizza first then eat the ice cream later." Theo sighs.

"Who are you, my mom?" She snaps at him even though she sits down and takes a slice of pizza.

"If I'm Ma, I will yell at you for fasting." Theo laughs out loud.

"Are you coming to Faith's ceremony?" Teddy gazes at her twin.

"No. I've got things to study. You should study, too. You have had fun the entire summer." Remembering his mother's request to keep an eye on Teddy, Theo reminds his sister to stay at the apartment and prepare for the upcoming semester.

"Oh Gosh, if you guys love me, you and Faith should stop pretend to be good students so that Ma won't compare me to you two." Teddy rolls her eyes.

"I'm not pretending. I love to study and I really want to become a surgeon like Ma and Dad." Theo scolds at Teddy.

"I wish I love medicine as much as you do so that Ma will stop complaining about me." Teddy sighs.

"What do you like to study?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll have to see how I do in college first." Teddy murmurs.

"For God's sake, just go with medicine. You're not stupid; all you need to do is work harder. You haven't worked hard enough and that's why Ma keeps yelling at you." Theo purrs his lips.

Teddy stands up and throws the steel spoon into the sinks. "You know what Theo? I'm done with you. You are my twin. You shared the same womb with me. And I was there for you, helping you out when you put yourself into trouble with Jane. You're supposed to have my back when Mom and Dad scolded at me. But I know, what occupies your head now is yourself, your study and your trouble. You're such a _great_ brother." Teddy is angry at her brother's earlier comment.

"Don't talk to me about Jane."

"I won't anymore. Why did I help you first hand? I must be crazy."

Teddy walks to her room and shuts the door angrily. She puts her wallet and Iphone along with the second book of Sans Famille into a backpack then gets outside the house. She searches for the bus route to Stanford and jumps on the first bus that arrives at the nearest station.

As the bus drives Teddy to San Jose, she stares at the scenery outside the window absently, thinking about her future. What does Teddy want to do? Well, she likes listening to music and reading books. She also likes to create beautiful stuff and decorate her room. Later on, Teddy figures out she can sell those stuff on Etsy and earn some money without having to work at an ice cream parlor like her friends in high school. "_Uhm, I think I like to make money_." But what kind of job involves making money in its literal meaning? She is uncertain if such occupation exists; all she knows is she doesn't want to wear a scrub all day, day after day. It looks plain and boring in her opinion.

_Whatever it is, I will figure out by the end of the fall semester._

The bus arrives at Stanford and Teddy strides along the road towards the apartment complex. Her jaw drops in amazement as she witnesses the beauty of the campus in the evening. She feels peaceful and tranquil walking under the yellow shade of the spotless, nostalgic Memorial Church Quad. It would be so romantic to have someone propose to her under the roof of this hallway.

Twenty minutes or so and Teddy arrives at her sister's apartment. She knocks on the door a few times but no one answers. Teddy takes out her phone and dials Faith's number.

"Teddy?"

"Hey, I'm at your front door. Open the door!"

"You're in Stanford? I'm not at home. Is Bailey at home?" Faith is surprised to hear the news.

"I don't think so. No one opens the door. When will you be back?" Teddy looks down to the watch on her wrist. It's 8:15 pm.

"Uhm…tomorrow morning." Faith murmurs.

"What? Where are you going? Tomorrow is your ceremony!" Teddy exclaims.

"I know. I'm in LA. We're visiting Daniel's parents. We will be back early tomorrow morning." Faith sighs.

"You…you're back with Daniel? And now you're visiting his parents? Oh my God, how can I come in then?" Teddy wants to cry at the hopeless situation.

"Don't worry. There's a key under the flower pot two feet away from the door. Take it and get in. I will drive home at two and be there at eight." Faith reassures her sister.

Teddy follows her sister's instruction and eventually gets into the apartment. The living room is rather tiny and cozy with a TV and a small couch. On both sides of the main area are two doors, which open to two bedrooms, one for Faith and one for Bailey. Since both of the doors are shut, Teddy decides that she should grab something from the fridge to eat and watch TV until Bailey comes home.

There is only a mean, old lasagna leftover in the fridge, so Teddy grabs one of those cups of Korean instant noodles that scatter around the cabinet. She fills it with hot water and brings to the couch. The level-four spiciness of the Korean chili powder in the noodle and the soapiness of the TV show on screen fill Teddy's eyes with tears. She sniffs and wipes her face as she sips the soup from the cup of noodle. She feels so hot inside that she runs to the sink and soothes her face with cold water.

Teddy opens the fridge again to look for some water, but all she spots are two packs of Corona and a glass of brown liquid with whipping cream on top that looks like chocolate milk. _Nah Nah, I'm still a good girl, I'm not gonna drink beer._ Teddy chuckles as she removes the glass of chocolate milk and brings it to the couch. She licks the whipping cream on top, which tastes so good, and she dips the straw into the glass then starts to suck continuously as she gazes at a making out scene on TV.

"BLAAAAARGH! " The bitter and burning aftertaste that is five times stronger than Listerine makes Teddy tremble. She can feel the intense liquid flows into her body and starts to burn her inner organs. As it hits the bloodstream, Teddy begins to feel dizzy. Her body is heated up from top to toe and she wants to throw up. She runs immediately to the first room on the left but it's been locked, so she runs to the room on the right which fortunately opens as she turns the knob. Teddy starts to feel a wave of intense headache coming over her. She spills a few of processed food from her gut on the shirt but she manages to reach the toilet before throwing up the rest of the noodle along with the brown liquid.

_"Shit! Every time I look at the bowl of the toilet I only throw up more." _Teddy desperately vomits all the food inside her stomach. Her sight becomes fuzzy and her skin starts to turn red with rash.

Bailey enters the house and realizes his bedroom door open. He picks up a wooden rod nearby and carefully tiptoes inside, ready to hit the stranger that breaks into his apartment. There is a disgusting smell of processed food and awful vomiting sounds coming from his restroom. He walks in and stares at the delicate body sobbing over the toilet.

"Teddy? What are you doing here?"

Teddy tries to turn around and whispers before looking back at the bowl and throwing up: "So…rry."

"You drank the liquor?" Bailey sits down next to her and gently pats her back. Five minutes or so when there's nothing left in her aching stomach, Teddy removes her head from the bowl and gasps. Bailey flushes the toilet with disgust in his eyes.

He grabs some napkins and soaks them with water then cleans Teddy's mouth and face. Her head wants to explode with waves of pain and her body flushes in heat. She starts to scratch her arms then neck rapidly as the rash appears all over the skin.

"Oh my god. You are allergic to alcohol."

Teddy is not conscious enough to think of anything other than scratching. Her entire body is hot and itchy. She pulls her shirt half up and scratches her abdomen enthusiastically. Her body is trembling and she tries to sit down on the floor, for she will stumble and fall otherwise. Bailey stares at Teddy with frustration for a second, and then he picks her up and lay her down on his bed. He runs outside to the living room and grabs a tube of Hydrocortisone along with some pills and a glass of tap water. When he comes back to his room, Teddy, with her shut eyes, is scratching over her two thighs crazily.

"Stop scratching! I'll take off your clothes first." He murmurs. Bailey removes Teddy's shirt and jeans. She whirls around on the bed to reach for the back that is now full with little pink dots. Bailey grabs her hand and grips it strongly as he applies the Hydrocortisone on her back and the back of her thighs. When Teddy's dorsal cavity is completely covered with the medicated cream, he turns her around on one hand; the other hand still gripping her wrist. Bailey blushes for a moment as he stares at her delicate body that is modestly covered with a purple bra and a lacy panty. What pops out to his eyes is a moderate brown area of skin running from her right chest down to her right side of abdomen. It looks like a hyperpigmented burn scar to Bailey. He shakes his head, then continues on to apply the Hydrocortisone on the rest of Teddy's body.

"You'll feel better soon. Don't scratch again. Here, I have some allergic pill for you."

Bailey gently pulls Teddy up and supports her back with his body. He gives her the drug and she manages to grab it in tremble. She ingests the water then hits her forehead gently as the headache is getting stronger.

"I'll get you a pain relief pill."

Bailey rushes outside again to grab a headache medication and gives it to Teddy. She drinks the rest of the water then lies down on the bed immediately. She feels exhausted and her eyes are completely shut.

"I'll get you Faith's clothes. Wait here."

As Bailey fails to turn the knob on Faith's room, he shakes his head in desperation. He returns to his closet and stares at the empty space. Most of his clothes are dirty and ready to be laundered tomorrow. The only thing he can find for Teddy is a white tank top and a pair of shorts. So he grabs the pieces of fabrics and sits Teddy up again to dress her in his clothes.

Teddy has no clue of what's going on since the moment she drank the milk chocolate liquid. As the itch begins to alleviate and her body temperature decreases, she falls into a safe and sound sleep. Bailey observes her snoring loudly and he can't help but chuckle. He washes the stain of the vomit on Teddy's shirt with water then throws it into his basket. He returns to his desk and continues to study for the Microbiology exam.

When Bailey finishes the last slide of the powerpoint, he turns off the desk lamp, stresses out his shoulder and yawns. It's already 2 a.m. He spins his chair around and glances at Teddy, who is sleeping peacefully. He pulls the chair closer to the bedside and gazes longingly at her. Her curly ginger hair scatters on his pillow, shining in the yellow light. The image of Teddy's burn scar revisits Bailey's mind; his lips curve up a smile as he thinks about how seeing Teddy's flaw makes he adore her even more. He can't help but gently caress his finger on her little cheek.

Teddy stirs her body and starts to blink. As she open her eyes, she puts a hand on the forehead, rubbing it a few times to wake herself up completely.

"Where am I?"

"In my room." Bailey smiles at her.

"What was that alcohol chocolate milk? It gives me headache." She grimaces.

"It's called Baileys. It's an Irish whiskey." He cheerfully explains to her.

"Ah…_Bailey_ gives me headaches." Still lying on the bed, Teddy gently twinkles.

"_Bailey _is strong and sweet." He teases her.

"Right, but I'm allergic to _Bailey. _I guess my first alcohol would also be my last. I have alcohol intolerance." She murmurs.

"No, you don't have alcohol intolerance. It's a genetic condition; and since both of your parents can drink liquor, you don't have alcohol intolerance. You have _alcohol allergy._" Bailey shakes his head and laughs at Teddy.

"Yes, thank you doctor, for a correct diagnose and treatment." She smiles as she looks at him laughing out heartily.

"Uh huh, how would you pay then?" He playfully asks her and rubs his hands.

"I don't know, how do you want me to pay for the treatment?" She rolls her eyes.

"A date?" Bailey winks his eye.

"How about a meal?...I can cook for you." Teddy tries to avoid the question that makes her embarrassed.

"A date, or none. I don't need anything else in return." Bailey slowly answers.

"I'll think about that." She whispers then tucks herself inside his blanket. Bailey pulls a pillow to the floor then turns off the light. He lies down on the wooden floor, eyes staring at the ceiling.

The dark room is filled with a comfortable silence. Bailey can hear Teddy tosses and turns in his bed, probably because she's not familiar with the place. She eventually speaks up, her silvery voice echoes in the tranquil night.

"I walked through the hallway of the Memorial Church Quad, Bailey. And it's beautiful. Stanford is beautiful."

"Isn't it? Then you should follow your sister's foot step and study at Stanford one day." He quietly answers.

"I don't want to become a doctor, Bailey." She sighs. "And everyone in my family keeps forcing me to study medicine."

"What do you want to do then?"

"I like numbers. I don't like to memorize things, I love to analyze things. I want to do something involved with making money. You saw how happy I was when I worked as a bank teller. I dress up, smile and count money." She chuckles.

"You want to be in a business major then. Probably finance or accounting." He turns around to look at her black shadow.

"Yeah? That's right. Probably I should check out finance. I always envision myself wearing suits and walking confidently inside buildings and generating money. Hahah. Thank you Bailey for another diagnosis. You will be a good doctor." She genuinely laughs.

"What will you pay me in return?" He repeats the same question.

"Urgh, what do you want this time?" Teddy grimaces.

"A date."

Teddy stays silent again. She's glad that the dark night hides her blush. It's not that she does not like Bailey; it's because she's been seeing him as a big brother for seven teen years.

"You live in Stanford and I live in Berkeley, Bailey. How can we have a date?"

"I'll figure it out."

Teddy thinks for a moment then she finally speaks up.

"Fine. With conditions." She whispers.

"What conditions?"

"First, you'll have to ask my dad."

"I'll ask your dad then." He imagines Uncle Owen shoving him on a couch and interrogating with a list of questions.

"Second, you'll have to wait until I'm 18."

"When will you turn 18?

"In months." She lies to him.

"I'll wait for months, until you turn 18."

"And…." Teddy hesitates because she can't think of another condition for now.

"Oh don't try to come up with another one, Teddy." Bailey grimaces. "I will wait until you're 18 and I will ask your dad and I will take you out on a date, okay?"

"Okay." Teddy gently whispers.

* * *

Theo looks at his phone again before walking through the complex to his sister's apartment. Now that everyone is here except him, he figured he should be present on his sister's big day as well. So he took the earliest bus this morning and he's about to meet his family in Stanford.

Theo spots a cab entering the gate of the apartment complex. It's his parents inside the car. He calls them: "Dad! Ma!"

"I thought you're not coming, Theo?" Cristina is amazed to see the son.

Theo sighs. "Teddy came here last night so I think I should be here, too. It's one hour ride anyway."

They walk past two blocks of building and stops at the third one. Theo pinpoints to a nice green door upstairs, which stands behind a delicate railing with purple flower vine.

Owen chuckles as he observes the apartment exterior. Cristina shakes her head: "Definitely her apartment."

Theo joins his mother's sarcasm: "I wonder how Bailey can suffer her girly romance that long, given he's her roomate."

Owen giggles: "I've been suffering her girly romance for 23 years and I'm still alive."

Theo impatiently knocks on the door and it's finally opened. Bailey greets them in a half asleep form. He blinks his eyes and rubs his face enthusiastically as he lets them inside.

"Hey, bro!" Theo cheerfully greets Bailey.

As Cristina takes off her shoes, she genuinely yells out loud: "Faith sweetie?" She can't hide her excitement to be back to Stanford and see her beloved daughter.

Being disrupted by the noise outside, Teddy stumbles out of the room. With a hand on the hip and the other scratching the messy hair, she grimaces in Bailey's tank top and shorts: "What's so loud?"

Owen and Cristina turn around to see their little daughter coming out from Bailey's room and wearing his clothing. They drop the jaws and freeze for a second. Theo steps forward Bailey to give him a hefty shove: "You slept with my sister?"

"No, Theo, hold on!" Teddy shouts out as she rushes towards the guys and pulls her twin back from Bailey. "Now that's the kind of brother I want." She winks at Theo, implying the quarrel they had last night about how an ass he was to his sister. Then she quickly whirls herself around, facing her hot-tempered parents, who are giving her a stern look: "And no, I don't sleep with Bailey. Wearing his clothes doesn't mean I slept with him." She glances at Bailey who is now very frustrated with her dilemma family.

"You're not 21, you're not supposed to have liquor." Owen sits on the couch and starts the lecture.

Teddy looks at the clock which shows a Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. "Oh snap, it's time!" She exclaims then grabs the remote and turns on the Bloomberg channel, to her father scolding.

"Teddy, are you listening to your father?" Cristina raises her voice.

"I am!" She turns up the volume as she speaks.

"Teddy!" Cristina scolds at Teddy again.

"Look! I thought it was chocolate milk that's why I drank it! And I never knew I had alcohol allergy, for God's sake. Hadn't Bailey treated me with the Hydrocortisone and allergy pill, I would have ended up in Stanford hospital already!"

"Why didn't you stay in Faith's…."

"Please, be quiet!" Teddy angrily shouts at her parents and holds up her hand, signaling them to stop talking. Then, she steers her sight towards the Bloomberg correspondents on TV again as she turns the volume even louder.

"….._and due to its successful trial, the stock of Merck and Co., Inc. has been tripled to $90.00 per share, raising the total revenue of the third quarter to….."_

Teddy abruptly turns off the TV then mumbles as she calculates a number in her head. Suddenly she yells out loud and jumps up and down in excitement: "Oh God I just earn six thousand dollars in profit!" She runs around the room then jumps to her father, wrapping her arms around him and kisses his cheek rapidly: "I'm rich, Dad! I just make six thousand dollars! I make six thousand dollars!"

As everyone gazes at Teddy's craziness, Owen gently removes his daughter's arms from him and asks: "What's going on, Teddy? Please calm down and tell me."

She looks up at Bailey from afar, blushing as she realizes she just let him see the wilderness of a daddy's little girl. Teddy grins and paces around the room, hands waving up and down in excitement as she explains to people:

"Remember the sperm research, Dad? I mean, the male birth control research on sperm acrosome? I had an Economic Professor in high school who taught many interesting things about economy as well as stocks and bonds. With her encouragement, I participated in the mock stock exchange and five months ago I bought real stocks with the help of a broker. I've also learnt from my Biology teacher that buying stocks from pharmaceutical companies can bring you huge profit if you have an idea the progress of the projects they're working on."

Teddy stops a while to catch her breath. Bailey chuckles, feeling totally amazed by this girl's energy and passion. He walks over the kitchen to get some tap water and give to Teddy. "Here."

"Thanks." Teddy gulps the water then continues to pace around. "So, I put a lot of effort into reading any research information that Faith could provide me, along with other info I found on the internet. I made a $3500 investment from my savings, $3000 of which solely invested in Merck and Co. It was a big gamble, I admit, but it was a calculated gamble because I did a lot of research about this male birth control trial."

"Teddy…" Cristina tries to speak up.

"No, Ma, let me finish. You would say investing solely on stocks is a gamble indeed, because you're in the industry and you know the drill. But I know what I'm doing. You need to trust me that I don't throw money out of the window. So, yeah, $3000 to $9000 and now I can put in my pocket $6000."

Teddy stops again to rest as her chest is pounding wildly. Bailey knows his duty is to get her another glass of water. Meanwhile, Theo is standing in a corner of the apartment, trying to hide a giggle as he observes his little sister lecturing their parents. The most amusing thing is to be able to see his parents sitting on the couch, miserable and speechless.

"…and so I'm sorry that I told you to shut up because I was paying close attention to the news. I'm over the moon now, Dad. I'm happy now that I am rich, but I'm also happy to prove to you two that I can still live well and make my own living without having to work in an ice cream parlor during summer. Or volunteering to build resume. Or shadowing a doctor to gain a passion. Whatever. I always know what I'm doing and I love what I'm doing. That's the point. I'm not stupid or dumb, Ma. I don't like to follow a premed track not because I'm incapable of doing it. It's because I don't like to wear the same scrub day after day…"

"Okay." Owen mutters.

"…and while you all lecture me, yell at me or laugh at me, Bailey was always there to cheer me up and support me. He helped me realize that I could be into Finance, which I totally think it's a brilliant idea. I think I'd love to follow a business major. And if it doesn't turn out well, I will pursue another major. I'm not afraid to start again if Finance is not what I want, because I know I will do well in whatever I do as long as I have a passion towards it."

"Okay." Owen mutters another word.

"So, this Bailey that you think I tried to seduce him, and sleep with him, and whatsoever based on the boy short incident and today incident, is completely innocent. And he supported me. He really was there for me when you turned your back on me and make me feel miserable because I am the black sheep of the family….."

Teddy starts to sober. She knows she's making a foolish scene going from laughing to crying, yet she can't help the tears to continuously fall. She couldn't care less about Theo and Bailey staring at her and probably laughing at her as well. Owen walks to Teddy, pulling her to his chest and holding her tight: "Shhhh, sweetie, you are my adorable daughter. We have never ever thought of you as a black sheep of the family whatsoever."

Cristina shakes her head and mumbles in amusement: "Somebody sedates her."

"Teddy!" Cristina composes a stern look. Still in her father's embrace, Teddy looks up to her mother.

"I never said you're stupid. No one in the house ever said you're stupid. And no one in the house ever said you're the black sheep of the family. You are smart, playful and vivid. And you care about other people. There's something in you that makes you uniquely different from the rest of us, the medical nerds. So, having a low self-esteem is something very unlikely of you."

Owen chuckles as he releases Teddy from his arm. She's still sniffing and whining. "You always love Theo and Faith more than me."

Cristina rolls her eyes. "Gosh, I've been listening to the same complaints from your brother and sister over and over. For your information, Faith always feels she is less loved because she's adopted. Theo feels being left out because he's the only boy and I share stories with you girls."

"That's true, Teddy. I am the one who always feel that I'm not loved as much as you two. Mom and Dad talk to me seriously because they have high expectation from me and because I'm the oldest." Faith speaks up out of the blue. As she just returns from Los Angeles, she enters the apartment and joins the conversation.

"Where have you been last night?" Owen asks Faith.

"I have visited Daniel's parents, and I would love him to invite you two to have dinner with us, tonight." She gently smiles.

Cristina shakes her head and sighs. "Look, you all grow up, and you choose your own pathway. So don't come back to me and whine that you don't get enough love from your parents, because _you do. _Your Dad and I, we are super busy, so we don't have much time to chitchat or talk sweet things to you. But we love to spend time with you and listen to you whenever we can, boys or girls…" Cristina gazes at Theo as she emphasizes the word _boy._ "And we appreciate that Teddy prepares dinner for us, or Faith takes care of the electric bill and tons of other bills, or Theo mows the lawn."

The children stay silent.

"And Teddy, gosh, no stupid high school student could be able to do a thorough research on male birth control and invest in stock. You're good at natural science, but we're fine if you want to pursue a business major. You are never dumb in my eyes. You are smart, very smart indeed. You have enough biological or medical knowledge to apply it to other fields. And you make $6000. Look at you. I admire you, girl." Cristina confesses.

"What? You made $6000? No way!" Faith yells out loud.

"Uh huh, I did. I sat on the couch watching soaps and I made $6000. Thanks to you, sis. You'll get 15% of my profit." Teddy grins.

"What about me? That's why I say I wish to have a brother. I'm completely left out, Ma, see?" Theo complains.

"You were an ass to me yesterday." Teddy glances at him.

"Hey, earlier I was about to hit Bailey because I thought he tricked you into sleeping with him!" Theo exclaims.

"What, Bailey? You sleep with my sister?" Faith angrily rushes towards Bailey.

"No, Faith! We didn't sleep with each other." Teddy runs to Bailey, opening her arms wide to shield him from her sister's scolding. "I'm sorry, Bailey. My family is a dilemma. This is too much of a morning for you. I will make it up to you. This time it's all because of me." She insists on Bailey.

"Oh gosh, this would never end." Owen shakes his head, chuckling.

* * *

_**thank you for your postitive feedback on Faith. Bonus: a sneak peek into Faith Yang Hunt's room. please go to tumblr and look for the tag #gaucung89_


	12. The Last Friday of August

_**Finally, Owen's birthday is here. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it._

_**I've been rushing to write the last chapters of Today Has Been OK because I have to be back to working mode next week. So, fasten your seatbelt because the ride will be pretty fast! And as always, I very very appreciate any reviews. I don't care if you're not native English speaker because I'm not either. You can even review in your language and I will Google translate it. I love your reviews!_

* * *

The last Friday of August

The alarm goes off exactly at 5:30 a.m and Owen shuts it off immediately, hoping it hasn't annoyed his wife snoring softly next to him. Turning around, he gazes at Cristina's fine features, realizing that she, too, gets thinner due to the hectic workload at Kraums Institute. Cristina had gone to Washington D.C in two days for an important conference, and she just returned home last night at 2:a.m. So Owen gets up from bed quietly, trying not to wake her up.

He carries an exercise mat to the back patio and starts to work on his daily yoga dose. As he inhales deeply, the smell of fresh air soothes his mind and soul. He's been too busy to realize that it's almost the end of August, and that autumn is coming with it cool breeze and golden maple leaves. After thirty minutes of practicing the yoga poses, his body shines with sweats. He feels content that he listened to Cristina suggestion to practice this alternate exercise, for he doesn't feel as exhausted as he used to when he comes home from work, even though he still has to stop to catch his breath sometimes.

After taking a shower, Owen dresses up in his business casual clothing. He eats some oatmeal and fruit along with a cup of coffee. Cristina and he decided to maintain a healthy diet because both of them are middle aged now and they are on the edge of falling into diabetes, stroke and all other kinds of disease.

Then, he walks by their bed and kisses Cristina _hard_ before he leaves at 6:20.

As Owen reverses his truck from their front yard, he hears the phone ring. He turns on the blue tooth and picks up Faith's call:

"Hey, sweetie! How are you?"

"Great, Dad. And happy birthday to you. Any plan for today?" Faith's cheerful voice echoes in the car.

"Your mom and I will have a dinner at 6. That's pretty much it. But it's great!" He laughs gently.

"We're sorry Dad that we can't be home today for your birthday. But we will be tomorrow! Will you pick us up?"

"Of course. Text me the time. Bye, sweetie."

Owen strides along the shiny hallway of Grey Sloan Memorial, giving greeting smiles as he sees the familiar faces. He encounters Meredith and Derek in the elevator.

"Owen! Happy birthday!" The couple cheerfully exclaims.

"Thanks guys. Any presents for me?" Owen teases them.

"Of course, an early retiring package from the board awaits you. It's the same gift you gave Webber decades ago." Derek laughs out loud. Meredith elbows her husband, smiling shyly: "Ignore him. May we buy you a lunch at the cafeteria today?"

"Sounds great. At one?"

"Deal. See you later." Meredith waves at the men as she leaves for her floor of General Surgery.

Owen enters his office and starts tackling down the huge pile of paperwork on his desk. A nurse brings in some basket gifts for him, birthday presents from the pharmaceutical and medical solution companies. After signing a whole bunch of paper, Owen starts on mapping out the schedule of the surgeons for the next day, as well as posting new agendas for the surgical floor for September. He then takes a look at the revised financial statements that the finance department prepared, making sure he gets all the categories covered because he will be presenting next week.

The pager goes off and it's from the pit. Owen reaches to the Ambulance bay to see Dr. April Kepner.

"Kepner, what's going on?"

"Hi Chief. Will you take over the upcoming trauma? I'm in room 2 and probably I will be in a surgery for the next 5 hours. Dr. Scott, the resident is also in another case."

"Alright."

As Owen is about to walk away, April continues her high pitch voice: "And happy birthday, Chief. You are a great chief."

His student's smile is one of the things he likes when working at the pit. It eases his stressful day.

"Thanks, Kepner. And I just want to make sure that you forwarded the letter paper that Theo wrote for Jane."

"I did, Chief. I forwarded to Jane two weeks ago, right after you came back from Stanford and gave it to me."

"Great. Thanks. I know I look kinda like a soft father, but my son has a troubled past and I really want to help him." Owen mutters.

"I understand, Chief. Theo is adorable and I'm glad Jane has a good friend. It's just whether they want to be friends again…or not." She shakes her head.

"Uh huh, anyway I did my part and you did your part. The rest is upon them." Owen smiles as he walks away to change into scrub.

Returning to the pit, Owen patiently waits for the coming ambulance. His left hand forms a fist and it hits his right palm gently as he looks up to the sky. His experience with Seattle tells him that it's gonna rain later today, like most of the days in this state. A few rain are needed to switch the season from summer to autumn, he thinks.

The siren of the ambulance becomes louder and Owen opens the door. Owen is surprised to see Cristina in a grey suit, hands on chest of a victim that is lying on the cart. Next to her is another man, looking very frustrated at the situation.

"Cristina?" He raises his voice.

"I had to crack his chest. He had heart attack."

Cristina and Owen helps the paramedic moves the man on the cart quickly inside. "John Kleins, 53,myocardial infarction….."

Cristina abruptly stops the paramedic from reviewing the man's situation. "I know his situation. He's my patient now. Thank you."

Owen gazes at her as they move the patient inside "What do you mean? You want to operate on him?"

Cristina nods: "Uh huh, he's very important to me. Also, he is my patient at Kraums, so I'd rather have myself scrub in and remove his blood clot than any other CT surgeons in this hospital. Will you set him up and prep the OR while I change into a scrub?" She looks up to Owen as she listens to her stethoscope.

"Okay. OR 5?"

"See you in there, Owen." Cristina smiles.

"You want me to scrub in with you?" surprised, Owen asks her.

"You're the trauma surgeon, you should be in there. Also, it's your birthday, how about scrubbing in with the famous Cristina Yang as a birthday gift?" She beams at him.

"Absolutely love that gift." He smiles then quickly moves the patient away. As they depart from Cristina, he can still hear her whispering to the man following her behind: "Mr. Wellington, you're in the territory of Grey Sloan now, one of my opponents. Friendly reminder that we have signed non-disclosure on our contracts…."

* * *

Cristina walks inside the once familiar OR 5 and see her husband ready on the left side of the patient.

"I read his chart. Mr. John Kleins is the new vice president of Kleins Co., a family construction company. Notable for cooperating with Scraze and Winters Co. Construction Company to build the Seattle Space Needle." Owen talks to Cristina.

"They are non medical terms." Cristina speaks in a motonous tone.

"Are you planning to build something huge, like a second Space Needle?" Owen asks her, half teasing, half prying for information.

"You should trick me into another lust trap if you want to retrieve any information, Owen. What makes you think I'm out of control now when you're completely covered from top to toe?" She answers sarcastically.

"My sexy voice is seducing you." He responds playfully.

"Erhem, please focus on operating the patient, not on flirting your wife, Dr. Hunt." It is the voice of Derek through the telecom. Cristina steers her eyes to the gallery up high and sees Derek and Jackson watching them.

"Aren't you supposed to be working now guys?" Cristina speaks loudly towards the telecom.

"No, we'd like to observe Dr. Cristina Yang operate on one of the most important men in the construction industry." Jackson chuckles.

"Observe but don't listen, please. I'm having an intimate time with my husband here." She snaps at them and hears series of laughter in response.

"Give us some private time, Derek. Maybe I can retrieve some information for you." Owen speaks up with an amusing tone. This is going to be an interesting surgery.

"Alright, Hunt. We count on you. By the way we really look forward to your presence at the Foundation Gala tomorrow night." Jackson insists Owen on going to the gala that they planned a few weeks ago.

"I can't, gentlemen. My kids will be home tomorrow and I want to celebrate their birthday. Cristina and I already prepared amazing presents for them. Plus if I go to the Gala with my wife, she will steal all the donations from the guys again." Owen laughs out loud.

"Ok then. Good luck with your surgery." Derek wishes him well then turns off the telecom and they both leave.

Now alone with Cristina and a few nurses, Owen starts to enjoy the rest of the surgical procedure. It has been years that they have a chance to operate together again. Owen suddenly recalls the canvas hanging behind his desk at home: the picture of him and Cristina operating on a patient, taken by a resident. They were in their first marriage at that time, and they were fools in a young, wild and passionate love.

"You are thinking about that picture of us operating together behind your desk." Cristina states the fact.

"How do you know?" He rolls his eyes.

"I marry you for 20 years, Owen. I can tell what's behind your blue eyes." Still with a monotonous and emotionless tone, Cristina answers him.

He looks at the surgeon in front of him with love and pride. Oh, how he misses seeing this little frame in the blue scrub and the surgical coat very much. Every time she's completely covered in surgical clothing, he usually stares at her eyes with much affection. His wife has small, single-eyelid, brown and sparkling eyes. People say you can tell how smart a person is by looking at the eyes. And he thinks they speak the truth.

"Are you excited about the presents we're gonna give them tomorrow?" Cristina asks Owen.

"Of course. I hope things go according to plan." He chuckles.

"Don't worry. Things will go according to plan. On their 18th birthdays, all of my children have to go to hell first before they can enjoy heaven." Cristina laughs.

"You're a cruel mother, Cristina." He shakes his head and jokes.

"My cruelty makes them stronger, Owen." She cheerfully responds.

They continue working on the patient for another three hours. When they finally finish the surgery and the nurses have carried the patient away, Cristina looks up at the clock, which indicates 5:00pm.

"Oh, I'm sorry Owen, I don't think I can have dinner with you tonight. The surgery was out of my plan so I have to go to Kraums and at least finish half of the tasks I planned out for today." Cristina shakes her head apologetically.

"It's okay. I understand."

"I will be home at eight then. We can have dinner at home together. I'll buy some Chinese wonton soup that you like." She reaches to his cheek and gives him a kiss.

"Sounds great. I will see you at home. I'm about to leave the hospital now anyway. I don't have to cover the pit today." He wraps his arm around her shoulder as they walk out of the surgical floor.

"See you later, Owen." Cristina steers to another direction and approaches the elevator.

Meredith was riding elevator when she sees Cristina. They smile as they meet each other.

"You're here. That's why he blew off the lunch with us." Meredith chuckles.

"It's healed. I'll show you." Cristina freezes the elevator, and then she turns around and unbuttons her white shirt. She reveals a portion of her right chest to Meredith.

"You're so cool. He'll be crazy tonight." Meredith's eyes sparkle as she speaks.

"Uh huh. That's why I have to cancel the dinner reservation and have him go home. I'm sure he'll relax and get some sleep when he's alone, and so he'll be energized when I come home at eight. I don't know what happens to him lately, Mer. He easily gets tired." Cristina sighs.

"Maybe it's time you two have a complete health checkup. We're middle aged now, Cristina."

* * *

Owen walks out of the hospital and encounters Callie and Arizona at the entrance.

"Owen! Happy birthday. Shall we hit Joe's?" Arizona cheerfully greets him.

"Thanks. I prefer to go home actually because Cristina will be home at 8 and I want to have a decent dinner with her." Owen genuinely smiles.

"Oh come on, it's your day! Let's hit Joe's. We'll take you only an hour." Callie pulls Owen's arm and the three head to Joe's bar.

"How's Faith enjoying school so far?" Arizona asks him.

"She's doing very well. We just attended her and Bailey's white coat ceremony. I'm glad they are good friends, they help each other a lot in their studying."

"Oh, I thought Faith and Bailey were a thing? Derek keeps talking about her as if she was his daughter in law." Callie laughs out loud.

"I…don't think so. Hahaha." Owen answers.

…

Cristina gently unlocks the front door and enters the house. Not hearing Owen's voice, she figures out he must either be sleeping or taking a shower. She tiptoes inside, glancing at each room as she walks past by. There he is, in the living room.

Cristina quietly comes over the couch. Owen is sleeping safe and sound, spreading his long and solid frame along the entire cushion. She sits on the floor next to him, gently threading her fingers through his auburn curls.

"Hi, dear. I'm home." She smiles at him as he blinks his eyes.

"Oh, I was about to make dinner but I must have fallen asleep. Anyway, glad that you bought wonton soup. I'm craving for Asian food recently." Still lying on the couch, Owen turns around and levels his eyes to hers.

"Oh my god, I completely forgot to buy the wonton soup! How about I drive you to the Asian restaurant near the hospital, the one you took me out when I first came back from Switzerland? You told me it opens 24 hours." Cristina scratches her head apologetically.

"Deal." Owen sits up from the couch and a few minutes later coming out from his bedroom in his old army T-shirt and jeans. Cristina stares at her husband lovingly. The T-shirt clings to his chest not tightly, but enough to leave an urge to see it bare. His jeans hang perfectly on the hip, and as Owen stretches himself out after a powerful nap, the jeans expose a subtle amount of boxer.

"You look…great." Cristina comes closer to him and leans on him to reach for a kiss. "Uhm, my husband puts on Acqua Di Gio when he goes to eat wonton soup." She breathes in the cologne from the nape of his neck.

"Add-on for my birthday." He giggles. Owen holds Cristina's hand and leads her outside then locks the door.

Hand in hand, they stand at the front yard for a minute, feeling the soothing breeze sweeping through their bodies. "It's almost autumn." Owen gently says.

"I have an idea." Cristina's eyes twinkle with mischief. She rolls on the garage door and fetches him two helmets. "One for you, one for me."

Owen rolls his eyes. "Now?"

She gestures her head towards the shiny motorcycle in the garage. "Come on, are you gonna take it out or not?"

He giggles and quickly removes the motorcycle from the garage to the front yard. Owen climbs onto the bike, putting on his helmet while Cristina sits behind him.

"I don't want you to die on your birthday, so we don't need to go on highways. Just ride it through the streets, I'll love that." She speaks to his ears as he starts the engine. Owen smirks; he abruptly rolls the throttle back and the bike swiftly strides forward. Cristina is pulled back by the force of inertia, so she bends forward and holds Owen tight around the hip.

"I almost forget this awesome feeling!" Owen laughs out loud as he gradually releases the throttle and maintains a steady speed. The wind sweeps through the part of Cristina's hair that is not covered by the helmet, and blows it widely.

"I love the weather tonight. It's cool and soothing." She tells him.

Noticing that Cristina is enjoying the view along the way, Owen relaxes his grip on the throttle a little bit more and slows down the motorbike. "Where's your hand?" Owen asks; his left arm folds behind the back, searching for her hand. Cristina puts her hand in Owen's, and he pulls it to the front, placing it on his left lap.

"Don't remove it from my lap." He glances over his shoulder and orders her.

"Why not?" She playfully asks him.

"And lean closer on me." He fakes a cold demand.

Cristina chuckles then leans on his back. Her chin gently places against his left shoulder.

The bike strolls steadily on the little roads of Seattle. As they enter Seattle Chinatown, Owen slows the speed down further, and they leisurely pass through the closed doors of Chinese restaurants and ethnic shops. Cristina glues her eyes to the giant red and yellow columns painted with dragonflies and carps. She is mesmerized by the shades of the red paper lanterns that shine up the little street in a peaceful night.

"This place is breathtaking." Owen comments as he is also stunned by the view.

"Why did we never ride our bike to this place before?" She wonders.

"I know, right? Just the two of us riding on the street makes me feel high, as if I were taking you out on a first date." Owen chuckles.

They quietly enjoy the tranquil atmosphere as they progress to the Chinese restaurant that Owen took Cristina out when Faith was hospitalized. It's been years since their last visit to this restaurant because they moved to a different city.

"Oh no, it's closed on Fridays, Owen." Cristina purrs her lips as she looks at the operating hours on the door.

"Too bad." Owen shakes his head regretfully. He turns his motorbike around and heads back home.

A lightning bolt strikes up afar and suddenly it rains. It's Seattle, what can they say. Now they wish they had some sort of raining gears to keep them from being wet.

"Hold tight." Owen tells Cristina over his shoulder. She wraps her arms around his firm belly as he rolls on the throttle and swiftly accelerates the speed. The bike rushes rapidly into the rain.

"This couldn't get any better." She laughs enthusiastically as it continues to pour heavily onto them.

"Are you okay? Are you cold? We're almost home." Owen yells loudly as the sound of the rain overwhelms his voice.

"Of course!" Cristina exclaims as she leans closer to his back, trembling.

Owen tries to run fast but not too fast because the sight distance is shorter now. He keeps a steady pace for twenty minutes until they finally arrive home.

"That was so much fun!" Owen laughs heartily when he parks the bike and removes his helmet. He gazes at his wife's beauty as she twists her mouth to one side, trying to take out the house key from her pants. Owen gently wipes the raindrops that are dripping from her hair onto her face. Then suddenly, he places a hand at the nape of her neck and pulls her closer to him. They both pant as they look into each other's eyes before his lips search for her lips.

"Hold on, it's cold out here." She winkles as she removes her face from his.

Cristina shoves the door open and they step inside. Owen turns on the yellow chandelier at the hallway then slams the door closed. He stares lustfully at the breasts that are pounding wildly. Owen can't wait any longer. He picks her up and guides her legs to wrap around his firm hip. His right hand supports her lower back while his left hand slowly unbuttons the completely soaked shirt that clings tightly to her body.

Cristina smiles mischievously as she patiently waits for him to take off her shirt and throws it on the floor.

Owen drops his mouth when he notices the little tattoo "Yang heart Hunt" on her right chest.

"What the heck, Cristina?" He can't believe in his eyes.

"Happy birthday, honey." Cristina playfully beams at him.

"You meant it when you said Faith's tattoo was rather sexy?"

"Uh huh." Cristina nods.

"My wife is so hot." He slightly bends his head down to kiss on the tattoo.

The chemistry becomes intense so Cristina jumps off from Owen's embrace. She quickly pulls off his wet t-shirt and throws it on the door as well. "I'm happy the kids are not home."

"Uh huh. It's only me and my sexy wife…" Owen unbuttons Cristina's grey pants and strips them off. She kicks the pants aside as they continue to approach the kitchen.

"….and anything can happen now…" It's her turn to take off his jeans.

"…such as I make love to my wife in the kitchen…." Owen smirks as he picks Cristina up again and places her on the emptykitchen table.

Cristina gently pushes Owen away and slowly unstraps her bra. He crosses his arms and gives her an amazing look as she throws the bra into the sink then squeezes her breasts together: "How about this for appertizer, chief Hunt?"

"Delicious." He smirks and enjoys the striptease.

"And this for main course?" She removes her panty then slowly widens her leg. The pink _Little Yang_ makes Owen lick his lip.

"Can't ask for more." Owen shakes his head and walks towards Cristina. He gently bends her down the table then pulls her to the edge. With hands on her hip, Owen drives himself into her. He sighs in pleasure as he withdraws. Cristina's legs wrap around Owen's hip as he starts to thrust in again rhythmically.

"Argh…." Cristina's moan turns Owen on even harder. He grabs her breasts and pounds into her faster. As the desire courses through his bloodstream, he releases his energy from the shaft into her womb. Cristina reaches an orgasm as she hears Owen roars wildly.

"Now comes the desert…" Cristina jumps down the table and guides Owen to sit on it instead. He rolls his eyes: "What are you doing?"

"Desert, chief Hunt." She grabs hold of his semi-erect thing and gently runs her fingertips along its length. Cristina stares at Owen lustfully as she lowers her head to his thing's level. "Oh, you're fully erect again." She smirks.

Suddenly, there's a loud sound of the door slamming. Owen and Cristina drop their mouths as they hear the familiar voices yelling. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!"

Owen jumps down the table, his hands covering the penis. Cristina quickly hides behind him. They freeze for a moment, not sure how to react.

"Oh my god! What are you doing in there?" As they hear Faith's voice echoing from the hallway, Cristina and Owen figure out the kids have seen the wet clothing scattered on the floor.

"To the library now, kids!" Owen yells back at them. Cristina grabs her bra in the sink then follows her husband to the bedroom.

After putting on dry clothing, they walk out to the kitchen and Owen fakes a cough. "Erhem, we're ready…"

Faith, Theo and Teddy tiptoe inside and place the birthday cake on the kitchen table. They stare at their parents and shake their heads as Cristina bites her lips and Owen flushes: "You said you'd come back tomorrow!"

"We want to give you a surprise. But I think we'd better come home tomorrow, indeed." Faith purrs her lips.

"Sorry, kids." Cristina murmurs. She quietly walks towards the hallway and picks up all the wet clothing dropped on the floor.

"So, are we…good now? Can we still celebrate your birthday? It's only 11:25 pm." Theo looks at his father.

"Of course. Thank you for coming home today." Owen shyly answers.

"We made the birthday cake for you, Dad." Teddy genuinely smiles.

"You did! That's amazing!" He rubs Teddy's hair.

"Common, Dad. Make a wish then blow the candles!" Faith plants the candle on the cake then strikes the match. Cristina turns off the kitchen light then walks next to Owen. He looks at her and grins: "What if I already have everything I asked for?"

"Then wish it will never change." She chuckles.

* * *

_**Bonus: sneak peek at the kitchen of Owen's house. Please go to tumblr and look for tag #gaucung89. If you only see two posts (and there are supposed to be five or more), click on the tag #gaucung89 at the bottom of the picture you're viewing and you will see more posts relating to the story._


	13. Birthday Weekend 1

_**Short chapter for you guys, I was out of town and I didn't bring my laptop with me, so this is all I had. Anyway, this will lead to a next huge chapter. I hope you enjoy and as always, please review. Thank you for the guests that take time and put a few good words for me. It made my day. Also, my frequent active readers with awesome reviews in all different languages, I thank you for your continuous support._

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND 1

It was the Thursday night before her father birthday and Faith paced impatiently around her apartment, waiting for her study buddy to come back.

"There you are! I called you but it all went straight to voicemail." She exclaimed as Bailey's face appeared at the door.

"Sorry. My phone went dead. What's up?" Bailey steps inside, drops of rain from his wet clothes dripped onto the floor.

"Are you going back to Seattle this weekend to attend the Foundation Gala? I've heard your family was invited because uncle Derek and aunt Mer were board members."

"Probably not. I'm not so interested in the fundraising banquet. I'd rather stay here and study." Bailey thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Great!" Faith exclaimed excitedly. "Then can you attend the Microbiology workshop and take notes for me? I've got to be back home from Friday to Sunday morning."

"A dinner at Elliot's then?" Bailey rubbed his hand and smiled wickedly.

"Deal." Faith rolled her eyes.

"What's the occasion anyway? I mean you never skip class or workshop because of any banquet or party." Bailey was curious about his friend's trip.

"Oh, my Dad's birthday is tomorrow and we want to give him a surprise. So your mom let the twins and me stay at your house to make the birthday cake when we're back at Seattle tomorrow afternoon. Also, Theo and Teddy's birthday on Sunday and my parents plan to celebrate it on Saturday, and they need my help. I've heard the surprise is going to be mind blowing." Faith cheerfully explained to Bailey.

"The twins turn 18 on Sunday?" Bailey stuttered in disbelief.

"Uh huh. Why?" Faith's eyebrows crunched up.

"I'm gonna go back with you." Bailey spoke up without hesitation. He didn't know if he was upset about the fact that Teddy lied to him or excited that her 18th birthday was coming up.

"But you said you'd stay here? Also who's gonna take notes for the workshop then?" Faith twisted her mouth to one side, wondering.

"I'll ask Maria. She'll be glad to help us out." He tried to come up with the solution.

Faith stared at Bailey for a while then she exhaled and murmured. "Bailey, you're coming back for Teddy's birthday, right? What's between you and her? "

Bailey looked down on the floor. "I like your sister." He mumbled.

"You _like_ my sister? She's my _little _sister, Bailey. You're twenty three, complicated and experienced. She's seventeen, sweet, and innocent. Please don't just like her and chase after her then break her heart one day." Faith shook her head.

"I love her, Faith." Bailey confided to his close friend.

"Are you serious?" She asked him again.

"I am. I am willing to come and be interrogated by your terrorist father so that I can take her out." He sighed.

Faith chuckled as she listened to Bailey's confession. She reassured him. "My dad is not that bad. If you are serious then we all welcome you to our family. She's my dear sister, Bailey. Please don't break her heart."

"I think it's more likely that she breaks my heart. But anyway, I'm flying with you tomorrow if that's okay with you. And I will have the workshop notes handled." Bailey grins.

"Deal." Faith nodded.

….

It was a lovely Friday afternoon and the twins sat absentmindedly at Meredith's kitchen as they waited for their sister. Meredith walked over the kitchen counter and smiled at them: "Make yourselves at home. Uncle Derek won't be back until eleven and I'll be on call tonight."

"Thanks for letting us destroy your kitchen, aunt Mer." Teddy waved goodbye to Meredith as she left the house.

The two were left alone in the huge mansion. Teddy started to break the eggs and separated the yolks and the whites. She glanced at Theo who was helping her pouring the wheat into a huge bowl.

"She still hasn't replied you?" Teddy asked.

"No." He quietly answered and shook her head.

"I'll talk to her." Teddy insisted her brother.

"No point, Teddy. It's okay if she can't understand. She's like her mother, sweet and fragile. That was really shocking for her to see me fleeing." Theo sadly confided to Teddy.

"C'mon, it was just one time! If she likes you she should understand your issues." She exclaimed.

"I thought about it, Teddy. Jane might come back to me this time, but what if my issue visits me and I run away from her again? I mean there's no guarantee that I am completely recovered. I can't just be happy with her one day then scare the crap out of her another day. You've seen me in my dark mood. And you were scared, too. That's too much for a sweet girl like Jane to handle. And I don't want to see her sob miserably like Aunt April. I have issues with girls' tears." Theo sighed, thinking about all those years listening to Chelsea's snivel through the phone.

Teddy didn't try to argue anymore. She knew her brother spoke the truth. She's heard Theo yelling at night and seen him waking up in sweats with some hallucination. Her father had to prescribe him with anti-anxiety medication for eight months, and the sisters were asked by their parents to keep Theo occupied all day, so that he would be too tired at night and go straight to sleep.

"I see you, bro." Teddy gently patted Theo's back.

"I like Jane, Teddy. She made my heart beat fast when I put the bandage on her face. But maybe she's not the right one for me now. Maybe when I grow older, I could be able to find another girl who's bruised and battered like me, that's when someone is ready to be in a relationship with me." He murmured.

Teddy shook her head, thinking about how he could be so negative despite his smiling with cheerful attitude all day. She knew the last twenty months he was really back to her favorite joyful brother again, because she witnessed his nightmares gradually disappeared. It was sad that getting to know Jane brought back Theo's tragic past.

Yet, unlike Theo, Teddy was a natural cheerful and optimistic person. She smiled: "You're thinking too much. Why don't you wait until Sunday morning? Jane knows you're back on Saturday, so she might come and find you. Don't leave her this time, don't let your love slip away, you hear me? Just wait, wait until Monday morning before you determine your relationship status with her."

"You really think she'll talk to me again?" Theo genuinely smiled as he listened to Teddy.

"Of course. You're a nice guy; you're as charming as Dad. My girlfriends couldn't help but lay eyes on you. And I also think Jane is smart and understanding. I know her. You two will make a nice couple. How about keeping your high hopes for the sake of my effort to matchmake you two?"

"Okay." He sheepishly nodded.

"Okay. Help me pour all the ingredients in the mixer please." She beamed at him.

…..

Bailey impatiently rushed inside his house since he was aware of Teddy's presence. He spotted the little girl laughing enthusiastically as she and her twin messed up the kitchen with the pound cake and the frosting.

"Faith! Bailey!" Teddy cheerfully yelled as she saw them. She dipped the little finger in the frosting bowl and licked it happily when Faith approached her. "The frosting tastes so good, Faith! I bet half of this creamy thing will be gone before we have a chance to spread it on the cake."

"Indeed. Let me help you decorate the cake." Faith also dipped her finger in the bowl of frosting and smiled genuinely.

Bailey sighed as he looked at this adorable scene in the kitchen. He admired the fact that Teddy, Theo and Faith bonded so well as siblings. He silently stared at the smallest figure of the three, the one who made his heart skipped a beat by singing with her father.

"Bailey! Come up here! I'll let you try my awesome homemade frosting." Teddy crooked her finger.

"Hey Teddy, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked her, his face was sheepishly red.

"I want to talk to you, too." Teddy grinned then dipped a big spoon into the frosting before following Bailey.

Bailey was nervous as he waited for her in the front yard. He wanted to ask her why she lied about her birthday. He wanted to know if he was forcing her into a date and she was scared of it.

"You talk first." Teddy smiled as she naively swallowed the frosting on the silvery spoon.

"No, you talk first." Bailey was trying to be polite.

"Okay then, remember you still owe me two things? I happen to know there will be dancing in the banquet tomorrow and I would like you to attend and….be Jasmine's partner." She whispered.

Bailey could not utter any word. He was sad that she lied to him about her birthday, and now he was even disappointed that she used his promise to ask him to be with Jasmine.

"I thought I told you that I don't want to be matchmade with Jasmine." He scowls at her.

"You did. I have my reason to ask you such favor, Bailey. Please." As she insisted on him, she looked down, trying to avoid his indignant eyes.

Bailey shook his head and sighed. "Teddy, I am twenty three, and I am a medical student. I am a grown up. Please don't ask me to do silly things as if I was a boy in your high school."

"You promised me to do two favors. Keep your promise." She purred her lips.

"Tell me the reason why I should be at the banquet and dance with Jasmine tomorrow?" Bailey crossed his arm, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at her.

"If you're not there Jasmine will very likely invite Jason to come over. We both know that Jason likes Jane very much and he will flirt with her, and since Jane is miserable she will likely approve Jason's feelings for her. And Theo…." Teddy stuttered. "Theo…he really needs Jane to give him an answer because he's been desperate. Theo likes Jane, Bailey. And he has a troubled past, and I want my brother to be happy." Teddy decided to speak the truth regardless how angry Bailey would be.

"So you do this for Theo because you feel sorry for him? And you keep saying that Jasmine is a good sister yet you continue to give her false hope that I will love her?" Bailey shook his head with total disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Bailey that this is unfair to you. But it's very important that Jason is kept out of the game while my brother is vulnerable. I just want Jane to be lucid and have no influence when she decides how she wants to deal with my brother. You've heard of his accident. He suffers, Bailey. And he likes Jane. He deserves another chance." Bailey can tell her eyes are teary.

"You think you can handle everything, Teddy? You try to prove people that you are smart and in control of every situation. You care about people and you do your best to make them happy. So tell me, Teddy, have you ever spared a thought about my feelings? Like have you considered that I'm hurt when you ask me such favor?" Bailey raised his voice. He felt like he was taken advantage all the time by this girl.

"It's fine if you don't want to do it. I'll figure it out myself. Don't ask me why I do crazy things to my brother, Bailey. You don't understand because you have never seen someone suffered like that. Everyone in my family has a dark past and I do my best to make them happy. That's true." Teddy snorted.

Bailey slipped out a big sigh. Then he responded to Teddy, his voice clear and determined:

"Teddy, you are well aware of people's feeling towards each other, so I am pretty sure you know my feelings for you. I guess you choose to ignore it anyway, because you lied to me about your birthday and now you ask me to go and dance with Jasmine whatsoever. What you're doing to me really hurts me, Teddy. But I will do this favor for you, because I know your father taught you that real men keep their promises. I do keep my promises. That said, this would be the end of what's going between you and me. So, you can just consider me a brother from now on. I'm totally fine with that. You are my close friend's sister, you and your family make it very clear to me."

Teddy could not utter another word when she heard Bailey's words. Tears started to fill up her eyes and despite her effort to keep them from falling; a stream of water ran down on her face. She quickly turned away from him as she murmured: "Sorry, I'm not crying to gain your empathy. Please come inside."

Bailey hated that every time they encountered, he was exposed to this girl's vulnerability. He approached her and intended to wipe her tears away like he used to. Yet he hesitated and finally he spoke up: "I'm sorry if I was harsh and mean to you, Teddy. Please don't cry." Then Bailey walked inside.

Teddy quickly wiped her tears and composed herself then followed him not long after. She returned to the kitchen with her siblings, smiling as if nothing happened. Faith and Theo waited until Bailey disappeared from the kitchen when they both spoke up: "What's wrong?"

Teddy sheeplishly smiled. "I'm a carefree and light-hearted person. And now someone starts to occupy my mind."


	14. Birthday weekend 2

_**This chap is esp. for you, ohsnap72. Hope you will be back to twittersphere and ffsphere soon._

_**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. We will be back to Crowen next chapter. What do you think about pushing it up and have one chapter per day? I would try to do that if you can give me more reviews. I know many of you are back to school soon._

* * *

"Wake up, kids." Cristina's voice echoes the hallway upstairs. Unlike Owen who was often gentle and patient with the children until they completely woke up, she slams each door open and yellsloudly into the rooms: "Quick! Quick! We have things to do today!" Next, she walks towards the end of the hallway to pull up the curtain. As Cristina makes a U-turn, she visits each room again and pulls the blanket out of her children.

Faith stumbles out of her bed, half sleeping: "I miss my freedom living in the apartment."

Teddy follows Faith. She scratches her messy hair. "Me too."

Theo closes the door and mumbles: "Me three."

"It's unlikely of you to wake up this early, Mom." Faith complains.

"It's Saturday and we have things to do! Come on, someone please heat up the chicken soup for your father. He's sick." Cristina orders.

"…because he was soaked up in the rain…." Theo giggles.

"…and busy being romantic with his wife…." Teddy shakes her head.

"You're the reason he's sick, Mom. You should heat the chicken soup for him." Faith chuckles.

The children run into Owen's bedroom, leaving their mother alone in the kitchen, feeling hopeless.

"Come on, Dad. How can we celebrate our birthday if you're sick?" Teddy climbs onto the bed and hugs her father.

"It's just light fever. I took some medicine already. I'll be fine in the afternoon." Owen coughs.

"You are never sick. What happens to your super duper immune system?" Theo wonders.

"Are you able to get out of bed? Mom is heating the chicken soup for you." Faith concerns about her father.

"I am." Owen tries to sit up and crawls out of the bed.

Cristina already prepares the breakfast for everyone. It's not her routine but today she decides to make an exception because Owen is sick and she wants her children to sleep a little bit more and enjoy their weekend at home.

"Are you better?" Cristina glances at Owen.

"Uh huh. The drug starts to kick in." Owen mumbles.

"So, Teddy and Theo, I would like you two to go to Kraums with me today. You've been playing around at Grace Sloan since diaper but I rarely let you visit Kraums. Today is a good day to have a deeper look at the Institute." Cristina beams at the twins.

"So that's the hell?" Theo asks his mother.

"What?" Cristina is confused.

"The tradition is on the 18th birthday, we have to experience hell before enjoy paradise. That's what you said. Is this the hell then?" Teddy explains to Cristina.

Cristina rolls her eyes to think for a second before she gladly says: "Yes."

"Good. I thought you were gonna say we're also adopted like you did to Faith on her 18th birthday." Teddy sighs.

"….which I already knew since I was six…" Faith continues the conversation.

"Come on, Teddy, you have my beauty. What makes you think you're adopted?" Cristina snaps at Teddy.

"Oh, I have Dad's beauty: red hair and blue eyes. I inherited your small-frame gene and I'm the petite in the house. I'm even shorter than Faith. And it's because of your gene." Teddy shakes her head.

"You inherit your mother's intelligence, kids." Owen chuckles.

"Faith does not inherit anything from you two and she's the smartest." Theo supports his twin.

"…which explains why education and diligence make up 99% of a genius." Cristina stares at Theo.

"Fine, I think we're on the wrong track again. Let's focus on the chicken soup and the Institute and our party after this." Teddy nods her head.

* * *

Teddy dresses up in a well cut business outfit. She walks down the stairs; her mother and brother are waiting for her. Glancing at Theo, she can tell he's been nervous because today's Saturday and since he's in town, he expects Jane to respond to his letter.

Teddy pats Theo's back and smiles: "Wait. Just wait."

Cristina tours Theo and Teddy around the Institute. She explains to them about the ongoing projects as they pass by the laboratories. Next, they walk to the hospital wing of the Institute, where state of the art surgical technologies are applied to perform complicated surgeries.

Subsequently, Cristina leads the twins to a smaller building which is mainly for administration. Before they enter the conference room, they stop at the door. Cristina stares at them for a moment then smiles:

"Okay, whether this is heaven or hell is up to you. You are going to attend a board meeting, which means you get to know the top secrets of the Institute. So yes, I'm doing what Uncle Jackson did to Jasmine and Jane when they were fifteen. But you are here because you are eighteen. You are grown ups now. I want you to have a thorough look at my work and decide if you can handle this huge responsibility when I pass it on to you, if I ever pass it on to you."

Teddy and Theo slip out a sigh and nod.

"Good. I introduced Faith to a board meeting when she was 18, and she was doing great. Now, once you come in, you will sign non-disclosure paperwork before the meeting starts."

"That means we can't say anything to anyone?" Theo stutters.

"Right. That means I trust you as a business person, Theo. You know Grey Sloan is also one my company's opponent, so you two can't tell Jane, or Jasmine." Cristina explains to them.

"What about Dad?" Teddy asks her mother.

"Technically, he's not relevant because he's the executive, not a board member at Grey Sloan. So, I usually tell your Dad about my plans when it's the right time. But it has to be a right time, otherwise he may unintentionally leak information to The Averys and that hurts my company."

"I understand." Teddy nods.

"So, you think you can handle all this?" Cristina looks at Theo.  
"Yes, Ma." He smiles.

Cristina opens the door of the conference room. She gently smiles: "Ladies and gentlemen, Theodore Yang Hunt and Theodora Yang Hunt, my children, who will be present at our meeting today as I noted last week."

Every one gently nods their heads to greet Teddy and Theo.

"Teddy and Theo, this is Mr. Alan Dane, representative of Kraums Institute, Zurich Branch. He works for Dr. Preston Burke. This is Mrs. Joyclin Hanson, head of Finance Department. Mr. Freidrick Lucas, Executive Director of Washington State, Board of Education…"

* * *

It's five p.m. and the trio leaves Kraums Institute for home. It was rather a long, stressful yet productive working day and Cristina is glad she gets her children to understand her work. She relaxes in the back seat as Theo drives the car and Teddy sits next to him.

"It was pretty amazing! I mean, Ma, I'm glad I got a chance to sit in there and listens to all the projects and calculations. Oh but I wanted to tell you one thing: I look at other hospitals' budgets and your overhead expense is 2% higher.

Cristina secretly smiles as she listens to Teddy's comment. She realizes this girl really has a thing for financial analysis. She gently responds: "Good observation, Teddy. We've been working on cutting the overhead expense in hope that we have a higher net income in the fourth quarter."

"Can you take me to other meetings if I have a chance to be at home?" Teddy turns around and gazes at her mother excitedly.

Cristina leans forward to rub Teddy's hair and smiles: "I sure can. Okay, now we're heading home for birthday party. Are you excited?"

"Yesss!" Both Theo and Teddy yells out loud.

As they are one mile away from the house, Cristina secretly pulls out her Iphone and starts recording a video.

"Teddy, what do you think your Dad gives you?"

"I don't care, as long as it's different than Theo's." Teddy pouts.

"What do you want, Theo?" Cristina bites her lips to hide her excitement as she continues to record the video of Theo driving home.

"I told Dad I want a Celetron telescope. I hope he remembers. I also don't like to receive the same gift as Teddy's." He groans.

As Theo makes the last right turn before arriving the house, the twin spot two huge red bows that pop up in their front yard. The bows wrap around what look like two cars: a black one and a pearl one.

Teddy pokes her head out of the glass window and waves her hands in excitement: "Oh my god! Oh my god! We've got new cars, Theo!"

Theo turns around to look at Cristina and gasps before continuing driving: "Oh my god! Ma! Why don't you tell me?"

As she continues to record the kids' wild reactions towards the birthday presents, she cheerfully answers: "It's a surprise! How can we tell you?"

Theo abruptly brakes his mom's car then rushes to the presents along with Teddy. Owen and Faith are standing at the front yard, waiting for them: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Teddy runs to her father and hugs him tight: "Thank you, Dad." While Theo picks Cristina up and carries her to the front door: "Thanks Ma. I love you!"

"Check out your presents." Faith chuckles.

Theo walks around his black Lexus IS250 f-sport in amazement while Teddy gets into her pearl Mercedes Benz C-250. Then she walks out of the car and grimaces at her father: "Dad, why is Theo's car more beautiful than mine?"

Owen rolls his eyes then purrs: "Come on, it's a boy's car. Mercedes C class is for chicks like you."

Cristina crosses her arms as she stands next to Owen: "You keep asking for a different present from Theo's and now you're complaining?"

"Can we switch, Ma? I like Theo's car." Teddy sheepishly smiles.

"No way, Dad knows what I like. Thank you sir!" Theo yells out cheerfully.

"Thanks your sis as well, kids. She chooses the color."

"Thanks Faith! I love you." Teddy hugs her sister.

"Okay, I'm starving. Let's come inside and see what we have for dinner." Cristina strides to the door.

"Best birthday ever. High five, Theo!" Teddy waves her hand for Theo to pat his on hers.

* * *

After a hearty dinner at 7 p.m., Teddy changes into a nice black sequin dress and descends the stairs. She spots her parents sitting with Faith in the living room, talking about her schoolwork at Stanford.

"How are you feeling, Dad? " She jumps to the place next to her father.

"Better. Where you are going? A party at your friend's house?" Owen wraps his arm around Teddy.

"Nope. My friends celebrated my birthday on Friday already. Where's Theo? Why isn't he here to listen to Ma's surgeries?" She chuckles.

"He's in his room. I notice that boy's been sad since morning despite the meeting and the car. Does he really like Jane or is he still sad about Chelsea?" Cristina gestures her head towards Theo's room upstairs.

"Let's see if I can do something for him on his birthday." Teddy smiles mischievously then she grabs her sister's arm: "Faith, I need you to go with me to a place."

"Now? I'm enjoying sitting here."

"Please go with me. And dress up nicely. We need some sisterhood time." Teddy grins.

Teddy pulls her sister inside the banquet right at the moment cocktails are served and live music is played out. She immediately grabs two cocktails from a waiter and passes one to her sister: "you're the designated driver so don't get drunk. Just pretend we're invited here."

"Why don't you tell me earlier so I put on a better dress? And you can't drink alcohol, Teddy. You have allergy." Faith grimaces.

"I know. Just enjoy yourself and find doctors to engage in conversations. I will call you when I'm done. I'm doing this for Theo, Teddy. We need to find Jane."

Bailey was talking to his mother's friend from Seattle Pres when he spotted the familiar figure of Faith. "Hey, you're here. Are you parents here, too?" Bailey cheerfully greets his friend.

"Nope. According to Teddy, I'm the designated driver. How's the fundraising going?"

"I think it went pretty well. I even raised some money from a few medical equipment companies myself. It's a great banquet. Hey Faith, I know this very nice guy. You should talk to him and dance with him. You'll be inspired by his contribution to cardiothoracic specialty." Bailey smiles.

"Oh, no need to. I will just sit here and…" Faith blushes and shakes her head.

"C'mon. You really will be inspired by him. He's a fourth year resident at UC Davis. He's phenomenal." Bailey places his hand at Faith's back and slowly leads her through the crowd to meet the guy.

"Who is your dance partner?" Faith asks him as they walk across the ballroom.

"Jasmine Avery." He answers in a monotonous tone.

"I thought you have feelings for Teddy?"

"She broke my heart, apparently, before I had a chance to date her. I told you." Bailey laughs sarcastically.

Bailey quickly resumes to his role as Jasmine's partner after he introduced Faith to his friend. He's glad that he attends the banquet tonight because he achieves many purposes out of it. First of all, he gets to know many amazing people in the medical field. Second of all, he has helped his parents raise more money than he expected. Third of all, he wants to keep his promise to Teddy because that defines who he is. And last of all, Jasmine looks completely stunning tonight in a light pink gown, and why can't he simply enjoy the night because he paid $200 for the ticket to Seattle?

Bailey grabs a martini as he stands observing Jasmine. He recalls being something more than a regular _brother_ to her in their parents' parties since they were toddlers. Due to the age difference, Zola, Bailey, Faith, Jasmine and Sophia form a circle acquaintance while Teddy, Theo, Jane and uncle Alex's kids enclose another circle acquaintance. Bailey admitted than he had considered Teddy nothing than his close friend's sister for the last seventeen years, and he always loved to teases the youngsters, especially Teddy, until she got angry. Jasmine was always someone easier to have a conversation with because she was roughly at his age. Things were much simple back then when they were young and had no idea what love is.

There's in fact nothing to complain about being next to Jasmine. She inherits the angelic smile from her mother April Kepner and beautiful eyes from her father Jackson Avery. She's smart, charming and sweet. As a junior at University of Washington, she loves to ask him for advices about schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Bailey loves to share his experience to any students that he knows, such as Jasmine, because he is passionate about his career towards medicine.

So, Jasmine is almost flawless in his eyes. He would love to be her big brother and mentor, helping her achieve in any way he can. But, as he said, just big brother. He cannot have feelings for her because another girl took his heart away. He's thinking about that girl standing in the corner of the room, who is short, small, flawed, troublesome, and who eats popcorn like an elephant.

Anyway, medicine is his sole focus right now. He doesn't want to think about that little girl in the sequin back dress. They ended their relationship before it got a chance to bloom.

Bailey comes back to Jasmine as he spots Teddy approaching her as well. He just wants to make sure Teddy knows that he is working the second promise.

"Sorry, I was thirsty. Let's go back to the hemoglobin curve that we discussed. I can explain it to you more." Bailey smiles at Jasmine.

"Hey Jas, hey brother. Have you seen Jane?" Teddy gives them a huge grin as if yesterday she was not crying at all. Wait, did she call Bailey brother?

"I last saw her an hour ago. I guess she's out to the yard and enjoys some fresh air?"

"Jas, guess what my dad bought me as my birthday present? A Mercedes Benz! I'm over the moon now, so ignore it if you see me smiling all the time." Teddy continues to grin in excitement. She, however, completely ignores Bailey.

"Wow. That's awesome. You can drive us around the town!" Jasmine genuinely congratulates the little girl.

"Sure. That's why I'm looking for Jane. I really want to give her a drive after I officially turn 18. Can she have a sleepover with me tonight, Jas? I need to catch up with her." Teddy purrs her lips and gives an absolutely yearning look.

"I think my parents will be fine with it. As long as Jane agrees to have a sleep over." Jasmine smiles at Teddy.

Bailey gazes at Teddy, half amused and half upset. He knows the girl is doing all of this for her brother, and that makes him like her and hate her at the same time. Teddy must have understood his feeling for her, but she chose to ignore it. Fine, then. As he said, his sole focus is medicine.

"I'm glad Bailey is here. Are you two dancing?" Teddy's eyes sparkle. She smiles mischievously.

"Uh huh, Jasmine is a stellar dance partner. And we worked together to raise pretty big bucks. It's amazing, right, Jasmine?" Bailey glances at Jasmine and smiles.

"Great. Sorry I sneaked into the banquet without invitation, Jas. I'm just here to look for Jane. She has to see my car today. My dad will have it shipped to Berkeley for me on Monday and I can't give her a ride then." Teddy sincerely confesses.

"I know you, smartass. Hey, how about an ice cream outing some time at Paciugo?" Jasmine grins.

"Sure. They have amazing chocolate almond flavor. I can never have enough of it."

Bailey recalls how Teddy is in love with chocolate almond and four other ice cream flavors. She once told him all she wished was a birthday icecream cake made of her five favorite flavors.

"Jasmine!" It's Catherine Avery calling her granddaughter from afar. "Excuse me." Jasmine leaves the two alone.

"See you later, bro. I'm leaving tomorrow at noon. So I guess I'll see you around Thanksgiving?" Teddy smiles as if nothing happened.

"I'm here, just so you know, I keep my promise." Bailey stares at Teddy with challenging eyes.

"Thank you. I'm glad Jasmine didn't invite Jason. Now I've got to find Jane." My, this girl really has a diplomatic skill. She's cold and determined. No one can touch her weakness and make her cry except her family.

"Good luck. I'm glad everything turns out the way you planned. We're just mere pawns in the chess game you're playing." Bailey feels hurt that Teddy doesn't appreciate his presence at the banquet at all.

Teddy's eyes become red. "You keep hurting me with your words, Bailey. You've been teasing me with your harsh words since I was a little girl, and I keep forgiving you for that. I was surprised to see you treating me nicely since my graduation party and I take time to adjust to that concept." She snorts at him.

"Then why would you lie about your birthday to me? I mean, if you don't like me, and you didn't want a date, and you felt like I forced you, why didn't you just spit it out? You acted like you have no choice but to obey my demand. The asking me to see your dad, or waiting for you until you're eighteen, or lying about the birthday are childish, Teddy. It makes me feel as if I'm a bad guy with evil intention who is trying to seduce a good girl."

Teddy's tears quietly fall down on her face. "Did I ever say I don't want to go on a date with you? I said yes, for God's sake. But I think it's totally ok to wait until I'm 18, or the guy who asks me out talking to my father first. I have never been in love before, Bailey. I'm carefree. I have boys who liked me back in high school but I considered them friends because I want to wait for a guy who's as nice as my father. Believe it or not, I don't want to waste my time being heartbroken because of some stupid guys. So I take caution in falling in love. And you are the first guy who makes me confused. You are the first one I want to ask my dad whether he's NOT gonna break my heart."

"Teddy." He gently wipes the tears on her face. "We can't just argue and then I lose because you cry." Bailey is softened.

"And for your information, it's totally okay for a girl to hide her birthday. If you really like me, you should try to find out my birthday. I was testing you. And you failed. So don't be upset now thinking that I was lying." She continues.

"Please, stop crying. We can go and talk outside."

"No. I know I was out of line to ask you to be Jasmine's partner today. I did it for my brother, and it was stupid. I wished I came up with the idea of asking Jane to sleep over earlier. Anyway, I'm gonna go and apologize to Jasmine. Thank you for keeping your promise anyway. Now, excuse me, I have to find Jane. We're gonna leave tomorrow. And I want Theo and Jane to talk."

Teddy wipes her tears and leaves Bailey before he has a chance to speak up.

Jasmine walks towards Bailey. He's mute now and afraid that she has heard the whole conversation between him and Teddy.

"You don't have to say anything. I know what's going on, and I'm not sad. Teddy keeps bringing me chances to be with you but I know your heart is with her. And we can't choose who we fall in love with, can we? I know she's trying to make Jane talk to Theo, and I am okay with that. I've got to know Teddy and Theo as sweet and charming individuals. I'm glad me and my sister have good friends." Jasmine stares at Bailey.

"Jas, I'm sorry. Thank you for understanding me. I'm your big brother, and I'll help you in any way I can. I just can't have feelings for you." Bailey sighs. He feels like he has lifted up a big weight in his heart.

* * *

Faith excused herself from the crowd to go outside and enjoy some fresh air. She spots Jane wandering around the balcony so she walks by and talks to her.

"Hi, Jane. How are you enjoying the banquet so far?"

"It's great. How's Theo doing, Faith. Is he better?"

Faith knows it's the right time to talk about Theo to this little girl. She pulls Jane to a beautiful bench and sits down:

"He is better in terms of moving on from his past. But he's not better in terms of waiting for your reply whatsoever. You don't want to talk to him again, Jane? I thought you also had feelings for him." Faith sighs.

"I like Theo. He's mature and charming. I don't hate Theo after he left, Faith. I just don't want to be a backup girl, you know. What if he's sweet to me today and tomorrow all he can think about is his past girlfriend and he becomes moody to me? If I like him with all my heart, wouldn't it be unfair to me to be treated like that?"

Faith gently smiles.

"Jane, Theo has recovered for twenty months now. I know there's no guarantee that he will always be happy and shiny to you, but at least he tried to move on. He tried to get to know you. He tried all of that because he likes you a lot. You are the one that provokes his well buried feelings and you make him happy again. And I know Theo, he's not the type of boy that flirts around. If he likes you, he'll want to have only you in his mind. So he might have troubles doing so at times, but it's great that he tries to have only you in his mind."

Jane stays silent as she listens to Faith's advice.

"Look, sweetie, I'm taking not on behalf of Theo. I'm talking as a girl who has to sacrifice a little to have the love that she wants. You're still young to hear my story, but you and I have one thing in common: you like Theo; I love my guy with all my heart. So I think it's okay to compromise a little bit to be in love. Because what's important is you like him, too. So, why don't you give him another chance? Why don't you let him correct his mistake? If you like him then it's worth trying. I mean, you can always dumb him later if you decide your love is too much to handle."

Jane chuckles as she hears Faith talking.

"It's a disorder, Jane. It's not that he loves the dead girl whatsoever. She was his best friend for ten years and he was involved in the accident. And he couldn't save her. That's really a big deal. But I know the first person he has feeling for is you, not the girl."

"Okay, Faith. You don't need to back up Theo that much. I will talk to Theo. Yes, he and I deserve another chance to get to know each other." Jane smiles.

Teddy runs out to the balcony to Jane and Faith. She gasps. "Hey girl, can you believe my parents bought me a Mercedes Benz for my birthday?"

"Wow, that's incredible. You need to drive me around. You're turning 18 tomorrow." Jane exclaims in excitement.

"Exactly. That's why you need to have a sleepover with me tonight. I'll drive you around town tomorrow before I flight at noon. My dad will ship my car on Monday so I won't have another chance to drive you until I come back to Seattle."

"Really? Are you plotting something? I know you, girl." Jane stares at Teddy mischievously.

"I'm serious. Come on. It's eleven now. Call your parents and we can leave now. I want to be at home for my real birthday." Teddy pulls her sister and her friend up and so they leave the banquet.

* * *

"Ma, Dad, look who's here." Teddy yells out loud as she arrives home.

"Why so loud, Teddy? Hey Jane. How's the banquet?" Owen looks up and greets Jane as he and Cristina are watching TV in the living room.

"Wonderful, uncle Owen. I wish you two were there." Jane politely responds.

"Jane is having a sleepover with me, Ma. I'm gonna drive her around tomorrow morning before I leave." Teddy grins.

Cristina and Owen stare at Teddy, smile and shake their heads. They know their little daughter is bringing Jane back for Theo.

"Theo!" Teddy yells out loud. She's always the noisiest girl in the family.

"What's up?" Theo gets out of his room and surprised to see Jane in the living room with Teddy and his parents.

He rushes downstairs and greets her with a smile. "Hey, how are you doing?" His chest flutters with joy as he greets her.

Jane looks at him shyly. She can still recall his dark and moody face the last time she saw him. But he seems completely happy to see her now. So why can't she give him another chance?

"I'm doing great. You?" Jane beams at Theo.

"I'm great. Hey, do you want to have something to drink? We can sit the my back yard, the weather is very nice today." Theo gains his newfound confidence. He couldn't be happier that she's here with him today, on his birthday. Well, almost his birthday.

Theo pulls Jane to the backyard with two bottles of ginger ale. Cristina glances at him then whispers to Owen. "My son is as flirty as you, Owen. I wonder which girl is able to resist him."

"It's call _charming_, Cristina. It's in my blood, and now it's in his blood. What can I say." Owen laughs out loud.

Theo and Jane sit on the deck that looks out to the backyard. He genuinely smiles.

"Thank you for coming. You have no idea how happy I am." Theo looks over Jane, straight in the eyes.

"Yeah, it's…great to see you. I hope you're doing well."

"Yeah, honestly, I was down for a week after I left your house, Jane. My dad had to give me some medication. I really feel sorry about that, because you looked pretty and I had planned out how I wanted to spend my night with you." He sighs.

"How often do you see her in your mind?" Jane mumbles. She wants to talk about it with him so she can understand him.

"I didn't think about Chelsea that often. I mean, I had nightmares and hallucinations, but they were incomplete dreams about how I tried to save someone from drowning and I ended up drowning. Not until that day, when everything was happening exactly the same way that it once happened to me, that it reminds me of the accident."

Jane can't not comprehend all the things Theo says all at once. She just sighs.

"It's like this. I buried my feelings for a long time and I had feelings again since I talked to you. It turned out badly at first, but I think it'll be ok as we go along. It's important to me that you understand that you make me feel happy again for a long time. And as a man, I want to make you feel happy as much as you do to me." He tries to explain to her.

"Was the girl your first girlfriend?" She mutters.

"She was my very best friend. But I was too young to understand what love is at 14, Jane."

"I'm not jealous with your friend or anything, Theo. I just want to understand you if I get along with you." Jane looks at Theo yearningly.

"I know. And I'm glad I feel at ease to share with you. You may move on after being in an accident. You may find it harder but eventually move on after your friend's death. You may find it almost impossible but you manage to move on because there was nothing you could do to save your friend. But those three combined? It feels like death." He almost sobs as he faces his well buried feelings.

"Theo, I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it…"

"No, thank you for listening. It feels like closure. I finally manage to say it out loud that the whole accident feels like death." Theo inhales the air. He feels like he has removed a big stone from his heart.

Jane puts her hand on Theo's lap. "You need to remember that you were with your best friend until her last breath. You will always remember her. But now you can move on." She reassures him.

Theo and Jane lapse into a confortable silence, their knees touching, and their body heat radiating each other. Jane looks up to the clear sky with a bright moon. It's a tranquil night.

Theo has been folding the silver wrap of the chewing gum into an origami bird. He hands the little silver figure to her.

"For you." He mumbles.

"Cute. I don't expect boys to know how to do origami." Jane chuckles.

"Teddy made all those kinds of craft and she asked me to help all the time." He smiles. "Will you go out with me on another date?" He looks at her longingly.

"Looks like you have a new car. Of course you need to drive me around town tomorrow morning." Jane laughs out loud.

* * *

After changing into her pajamas, Teddy descends the stairs with a box full of books and other miscellaneous items. She hears her parents' voice echoing from the living room. "What are you doing, sweetie?"

"Oh, you said the shipping service allows an extra of 40lbs, so I'm stuffing my car with things that I didn't get a chance to bring the first time." She puts the first carton box down the floor then run upstairs again to fetch the second one containing the remaining of her items.

"Why don't you do it tomorrow morning? It's 11:45p.m now, it's almost midnight."

"I don't want to rush tomorrow morning. Besides, it's full moon tonight so I'd like to be outside for a little while." She cheerfully answers her dad then carries the lighter box to her car.

Placing the box of her favorite novels and nonfictions onto the ground, Teddy looks up to the perfect moon that glows in the opaque sky with its dim light, feeling peaceful and content. She imagines her brother and Jane hand in hand in the backyard and her lips form a smile. _Happy birthday dude. That's my birthday gift for you._

Teddy gently touches the sparkling paint of her new car with delight. She turns on the lights inside the vehicle and gazes at the perfection of the interior: the leather seats, the stereo system and even the cup holder. Then she sings out loud her favorite song as she opens the trunk, intending to put in the first carton box.

"Looks like somebody is very fond of the new car."

Hearing the familiar voice out of the blue, Teddy turns around to see Bailey from afar. He is leaning on his car and observing her with delight, arms and legs crossed over. Even without the black bow, he looks completely attractive in his white tuxedo shirt and pants.

"Nothing to talk about, Dr. Shepherd." She glances at him then quickly turns away.

"Dr. Shepherd? When did I become Dr. Shepherd to you?" He drops his mouth in disbelief.

"Since yesterday evening when you announced that whatever between you and me ended." Teddy closes the trunk abruptly then leans on it. She crosses her arms and gives Bailey a challenging look.

"First, you can call me _Dr. Shepherd_ when I receive my MD diploma. Second, I thought you were happy that what's going on between you and me ended, _Miss Hunt." _Bailey smirks. He opens the trunk of his vehicle and takes out a cooler.

"Miss Yang-Hunt." Teddy corrects him with a serious countenance.

"Hm, Miss Yang-Hunt? I thought Yang is your middle name." He slowly walks towards her with the cooler in one hand.

"I'm gonna change my last name into Yang-Hunt once I'm eighteen. I want my mother's last name to be included in my last name." As Teddy sees Bailey approaching her, she walks away to grab the carton box on the ground.

"That's complicated." Bailey smiles mischievously as he puts the cooler down and walks towards Teddy. He takes the heavy box from her arms and gestures towards the trunk.

"Why is it complicated?" Teddy opens the trunk of her car then leans on the door, observing Bailey organizing the box.

"Because if we get married and have children, their last name will be Yang-Hunt-Shepherd, and they will hate us, for it's freaking long." Bailey closes the trunk and places the cooler on top of it.

"You have wild imagination!" She exclaims angrily to hide her blush.

"Ok then. Since you'd be leaving Seattle tomorrow, I just want to come by and say farewell." He lifts up the cap of the cooler and slowly takes out little carton cups, one by one. "Chocolate almond. Pistachio almond. Rum raisins made from artificial rum so that you won't be allergic, white chocolate truffle and strawberry, and tiramisu." Bailey places them on the roof of Teddy's new vehicle.

"Are you trying to seduce me again?" Teddy asks him.

"Seduce you? No. I just simply think you would like to have all of your favorite ice creams on your birthday. I watched Youtube and noted down the recipe because I was about to make an ice cream birthday cake for you, but I had to attend the banquet as you requested. So this is all I can do." He dips the spoon in the tiramisu and hands to her.

Teddy pins her back on the vehicle door. She swallows the spoonful of ice cream and smiles sheepishly. "Thank you for this, Bailey. I guess I can never hate you for too long."

"Try this one then you will start to like me." Bailey takes the spoon from Teddy and scoops a spoon of pistachio almond. As he feeds her the ice cream, he stares at her lovingly. His lips form a smile.

"Delicious, as always." She giggles as the pistachio almond flavor melts on her tongue.

Bailey dips the spoon in the rum raisins this time and hands it to Teddy. He gently looks down as she swallows in delight. "Sorry I made you cry a few times. You're a cheerful girl and I only want to make you smile. I love to see you smile."

Is Bailey feeling guilty because he was the ultimate reason of her cry recently? Teddy's heart sinks a little to see him in sorrow. She gently lifts up his chin; she looks straight into his eyes and beams at him. "Please, don't blame yourself. You also cheered me up when I was sad, Bailey. You made me happy."

"Did I?" He smiles sheepishly. "I just followed my instinct. I guess I choose to love you anyway, whether you are capable of letting me or not." He gently brushes a strand of hair on her cheek and lightly places it behind her ear.

"I'm _letting _you, Bailey." Teddy giggles.

Bailey places both of his hands against the car door with Teddy standing in between. His face moves closer to hers, and the vicinal encounter makes her tremble. A gentle wind blows and the lavender scent of her lotion is magically enchanting. He stares at her blue eyes passionately and he can see his reflection but he ignores that.

"Happy birthday, dear." He plants a gentle kiss on her little lips as his watch makes a beeping sound at 12:00 a.m.

Teddy closes her eyes and stands still, letting his soft lips caress hers. She has just had her first kiss on her eighteenth birthday.

Cristina opens the door for Owen to carry the heavier box in his arms. "Teddy, what about this box? Where do you want me….?" Owen pauses as he witnesses Bailey kissing his daughter under the moonlight.

"You're cockblocking the young couple, Owen." Cristina giggles to her husband's ear as she evaluates the situation.

Teddy drops her mouth and shoves Bailey away when hearing her father's voice. They both turn around and look nervously at Owen and Cristina standing at the front door. She unpins herself from the car door and smooths out her hair while Bailey composes himself and clears his throat.

Glancing at Teddy, Bailey finds she's smiling at him and her eyes sparkle with love. He smiles at her in response then holds her hand and walks her to the front door.

"Sir, I've liked Teddy Yang Hunt for a while now, and I would like your blessing to date your daughter."

Bailey just realizes this old-fashioned move is nowhere near awkward. Honoring Teddy's father, for him, was about honoring her, honoring the connection she had with him. And when he did that, he stood up a little straighter, felt a little more like a man.

Owen blinks his eyes a few times; he is totally unprepared for the situation. He has never envisioned the son of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd asking for his blessing to date his eighteen year old daughter. Owen can feel Cristina's gently laying her hand at the nape of his back to encourage him. He looks at Teddy's eyes and feels her determination and passion. Owen sighs; his mouth forms a smile:

"I'm not a Christian, Bailey. But you do have my blessing to date my daughter."

* * *

**bonus: check out tag #gaucung89 on Tumblr to have a look at my favorite picture of Teddy Yang Hunt on her sixth birthday. This is the picture that inspired me to develop this fictional character Teddy.


	15. Salt In The Wound

_**We're back to Crowen, yay! But not so yay. Plz sit tight and enjoy the roller coaster, knowing it's coming to an end when you see the last three words "Happily ever after."_

_**Thank you for your reviews, my wonderful readers. Plz continue to do the great job that you are doing, it inspires me to update faster :) Besides my frequent readers, I love to hear the feedback from my anonymous guests._

_**Finally, you can check out Cristina and owen's room using the tag #gaucung89 in tumblr._

_**Oh, I forget to tell you I decide to change the name of the fanfic to **OWEN'S ANATOMY** from the next chapter. If you haven't followed the story, make sure you check out the fanfic under the new name. _

* * *

Owen walks to the ambulance bay and sighs in despair. It has been an unusual low day at the pit and deep inside, he wishes for an accident would occur somewhere around Grey Sloan so that he could stain his fingers with some blood. Feeling guilty with his own thoughts, Owen shakes his head and mumbles: "What am I thinking? As a doctor I should wish that no one is brought to the hospital, harmed or injured."

He turns around and walks over the counter of the Emergency department, where April is sitting and chewing gum, eyes gluing to a magazine.

"Sit down and relax, Chief. Trauma will arrive at any minute." April Kepner reassures him.

"Ah..I only cover the pit twice a week and I haven't got to hold the scalpel for two weeks already." He shakes his head as he sits down a chair next to her.

"You wanna see blood. That's bad." April giggles.

"I have an idea." Owen's eyes shine up as a thought gets through his mind.

He sits down on a gurney in a trauma room with the door closed. April tightens up Owen's left arm and rubs gently the skin so that she could see the vein better.

"You'd better tell me what's the purpose of all this, Chief." She inserts the needle into his vein.

"Um, I just age another year so I guess it's the right time to do a blood checkup." He sheepishly smiles.

"Run it on John Doe, will you?" Owen watches April capping the test tube.

"Dr. Hunt, Dr. Kepner. Incoming trauma from a car accident. Head-on collision. Severe spinal injury for the first patient and multiple bone fractures for the second patient. There's also a baby involved but they haven't reported the vitals yet." An intern dashes in the trauma room and gasps. Owen jumps off the gurney and puts on the gloves. He slams the door and rushes outside. Meanwhile, April hands over the test tube to the intern, groaning "Run the blood test!" before following Owen. The intern stands still for a moment before she finally speaks up: "Whose blood is this?"

"Owen Hunt." Kepner shouts at the intern and rushes to the incoming gurneys. She completely forgets Owen has asked her to run the test anonymously.

…

"Owen! What do we have?" Meredith enters Trauma 2 where Owen is performing a CPR on a male patient.

"Abdominal tenderness with hepatic blunt trauma. I need you to scrub in with me." Owen quickly informs Meredith about the patient's status before shifting his focus back on resuscitating the patient.

Meredith scrubs in OR2 not long after the patient is prepped up. Owen has already opened up the patient's abdomen and started examining the liver injury.

"It's been a while since I'm in the OR with you." Owen can hear Meredith chuckling behind her mask.

"I know. I miss being in the OR, too. Can't believe I've done this chiefy job longer than Webber." He genuinely smiles in respond.

"Cristina's told me about Bailey asking you to date Teddy. I'm glad you support them. My son is a good man, Owen. And we can be in laws, are you excited about that?" Meredith speaks as she's trying to figure out the hemorrhage position.

"Well, yeah. At least for now Teddy has someone else to bother other than me, which gives me more time with Cristina." His eyes sparkle as he talks about his wife.

"Speaking of Cristina, she's been concerned about your health. I am, too. I advise you do a total checkup. We have women wellness exam every year and I think men should do the same exam, too. We're not young anymore, Owen. Our health declines over time. I always kick Derek's ass to have him go checked up." Meredith giggles.

"Okay." Owen just nods and continues on his work.

Later that afternoon, Meredith revisits the pit to find Owen. She was about to go with him to meet the patient that they saved in the morning. She spots no sign of any trauma surgeon, so she walks over the counter and asks a nurse: "Hi, do you see Dr. Hunt?"

"He's in Trauma 1 with Dr. Kepner. There's a patient being electrocuted at home and they're working on them. Chances are rare." The nurse shakes her head, thinking about how terrible the patient was when he was brought to the pit.

"I'll wait then." Meredith gently taps her fingers on the counter and hums a song.

"Have you seen Dr. Hunt?" An intern walks by the counter and asks Meredith.

"I'll be with him shortly. What do you need to tell him?" She smiles at the intern.

"Blood work for Dr. Hunt." The intern hands over Meredith a chart.

"And whose patient is this?" Her eyebrows curve up.

"It's Dr. Hunt's blood work."

Curious, Meredith carries the chart to a chair then sits down and examines. The folder is not quite thin; in fact, there were a few labs run prior to the blood work. Meredith flips over the patient's history to look at the results at the bottom of the pages, in which she notes a hematuria symptom that Owen noted in his chart and some fevers in the afternoons as he took the temperature of himself. Meredith quickly flips to the second last page of the pile, of which some numbers from a urine test and creatinine test bothers her. Last but not least, she takes a look at the latest blood work of Owen, in which the CBC and a few other numbers are circled. A small yellow sticky note is on top of it: BIOPSY RECOMMENDED.

Gasping, Meredith immediately closes the chart and pretending that she's playing on the phone when Owen walks toward her.

"Grey?"

"An intern gives this to you." She forces a smile.

Owen accepts the chart from Meredith, his eyes narrow with suspicion. "You paged me?"

"Uh huh, I want to go check up on the patient with you." She still pretends to be naïve.

Owen finally leaves the hospital at seven. He drives slower than normal, letting the cars passing him by with pissed honking. His mind is obsessed with the yellow sticky note BIOPSY RECOMMENDED that he saw earlier the day. So, the doctor that he secretly asked to run all his tests recommends him to do a biopsy. He feels useless, thinking about how his whole career is about fighting for people's lives and now he is vulnerable about his own life.

It's the beginning of autumn and the sun goes down earlier. Owen enters his empty house, recalling the laughters and quarrels of Cristina and his children. He changes into a plain t-shirt and flannel pants. Owen makes a cup of hot tea and sits in the back garden. His eyes look out to the hills behind the fences that bright up, reflecting the golden color of the sunset. He realizes his life now is like the sunset of the day.

"Hello?" Owen picks up his cell phone.

"Owen. How are you?" It's Teddy Altman's voice on the line.

"Great. What's going on, Teddy?" He feels glad to hear his old friend's voice.

"I'm raising fund to do another project on front line surgery. I need two references, and your name would be very helpful to me since you're the chief of surgery when I worked at Grey Sloan. Can I use your name?"

"Of course. I'm glad I can help. The project sounds intriguing." He genuinely smiles to the phone.

"Uh huh. How's your family doing? How are Cristina and the kids? Especially Teddy?" He can hear Altman's laughter on the line.

"Faith is a second year med student at Stanford now and Theo is in premed. Teddy decides to go with Finance and she's been dating Bailey Shepherd, son of Derek and Meredith."

"Wow, they're all grown up now. That gives you some extra time with Cristina, which is great." Teddy Altman reassures her old friend.

"Right." Owen fakes a weak smile.

"What's wrong?" She detects the sorrow in Owen's voice.

"Nothing. I'm glad to catch up with you. We haven't talked for years." Owen tries to change the subject.

"I can tell something is wrong, Owen. You can share with me; don't forget I'm your great friend." Teddy Altman insists.

There's a comfortable silence on the line, eventually Owen speaks up:

"I have fever in the afternoons recently and I have blood in urine, Teddy. I'm heading for a biopsy tomorrow because these symptoms make me worry that…"

"Stop it, Owen." She interrupts his talking. "It may just mean kidney stones, or kidney infection, or even enlarged prostate gland. Don't you think too much and bring yourself down with negative thoughts. Just wait until the official result comes back."

Teddy can hear her friend sighing on the line.

"I'm glad I can tell you, Teddy. There is no one here in Grey Sloan that is not Cristina's friend and I don't want her to worry about me."

"Owen, you will be fine. I have a strong belief that you will be fine. Whatever reason, don't let the negative thoughts bring you down. When in the army, we were trained to fight, not to give up. This is very unlike you." Teddy reassures him.

"Thanks, Teddy. It feels much better to share with you. You take care."

Owen hangs up his phone as he hears the door being unlocked. It is Cristina coming home. He walks inside the house and greets her with a kiss. "Hey, honey, how's your day?"

"Wonderful. How are you?"

"Wonderful." Owen cheerfully replies.

Both Cristina and Owen know that is not the truth, yet they prefer not to rant about their hectic workload anyway. He looks at her fine features and a bittersweet feeling flutters in his chest. Twenty years devoting themselves to medicine and now he can spot wrinkles on her eyes. She's aged as much as he does. She's been through heaven and hell as much as he does.

"What?" Cristina asks Owen.

"Maybe, maybe when you're done with your project, we should have a vacation, Cristina. There are many things that I want to do in my life that I haven't got a chance…" Owen looks at his wife yearningly, his hand gently smoothens her hair.

"Why do you sound like an old, sick man today?" She snaps at him.

"Because there are still many things I want to do with you." Owen follows Cristina to their bedroom as she undresses her clothing.

"Make a list then?" She chuckles.

"Sure. I will make a list and we will try to check them off for the remaining of our lives." Owen sits on the edge of his bed and stares at her.

"Sounds great. We can start off the list by having you cook dinner for me." Cristina laughs out loud.

"That is the first item on the list and it's been checked many times." He smiles then strides to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

…..

"Dr. Hunt, a core needle will be inserted into your abdomen to collect a renal tissue. We will take CT scans along the procedure to have a proper collection of the tissue. Also, you will go under local anesthesia and we will give you some sedative medicine through your IV. You will be discharged after three hours and you can't drive a vehicle today. Do you understand what we're about to do?"

"I understand, Dr. Winston. I know the drill. Please go ahead and proceed." Owen smiles at the oncology doctor then closes his eyes and relaxes as he's been injected with the sedative drug. He tries to shift his mind from the uncomfortable sting caused by the biopsy needle to the list of things that he wants to do with Cristina for the remaining of their lives.

After a tissue is taken out from Owen's body, the doctor wraps him with a bandage and he is asked to apply pressure on the wound for fifteen minutes or so until he stops bleeding. Owen looks at the needle being removed from his body and imagines a hole as large as a straw on his abdomen. "Another scar to my collection." He chuckles, thinking about how his body is covered with bullet fragment scars. He recalls being the sole survivor while 19 men in his unit died in an attack. He also recalls being saved by Meredith after taking a gunshot from the crazy man in the hospital. He has been survived in all of his battles. He should as well survive in this fight against renal carcinoma if he ever has one.

Owen takes a nap on his bed in the oncology department for three hours then catches a cab home. Still feeling dizzy, he goes straight to his bedroom and lies down, not even bothering to undress. As the anesthesia starts to wear off, he tries to sleep again to forget the pain.

"Owen?" Cristina gently caresses Owen's face.

"Huh?" Owen blinks a few times, trying to stay awake

"Are you okay? Have you eaten dinner? Why don't you take a shower and undress?" Cristina lies next to him and gazes at him with concern.

"Oh right." Owen tries to sit up and gets out of bed. He walks into the bathroom and changes into his pajamas. Suddenly, Cristina opens the door and enters.

"Hey, can you go away?" Owen abruptly turns around, hiding the side of the abdomen that is dressed with bandage.

"Why? I need to brush my teeth." Cristina's eyebrows crunch up.

"Just, just give me a moment in here." He stutters.

"Okay then." Still confused, Cristina walks out of the bathroom and closes the door.

As Owen slowly returns to their bed, Cristina walks away to brush her teeth. She detects every detail of the bathroom, trying to find something different. She spots the gauze in red blood that Owen wrapped in toilet paper and threw in the trash.

Cristina returns to their bed and stares at Owen snoring weakly under the blanket. She tucks herself inside the blanket as well, arm wrapping around his body. She gently touches his skin inch by inch, trying to find the wound that is wrapped in the new gauze. There it is, on the right side of his abdomen.

"What are you doing?" Owen wakes up; his face grimaced as the pressure on the wound is causing him pain.

"Hugging you." Cristina beams at him.

"I need that, especially tonight." Owen moves her arm higher to his chest. "Keep it here. My heart needs to feel your embrace." He gently smiles.

Cristina can tell something is wrong with her husband yet he is not ready to talk about it. She leans closer to kiss on his cheek. "I love you, Owen. Have you come up with the list?"

"I did." Owen smiles wildly showing his teeth; his eyes sparkle like diamonds.

"Tell me then."

"I want to marry you." He sheepishly smiles.

"Checked."

"I want to have kids with you." Owen continues.

"You already have three. I'm not gonna give you another one. I'm about to enter menopause." Cristina rolls her eyes.

"So that is checked." Owen grins. His hand gently caresses her hand that is on his chest.

"What else?" She purrs her lips.

"To be in an OR and perform a badass surgery with you." He stares at the ceiling.

"We did that many times, and we will continue to do that. Checked." Cristina answers him.

"Uhm, I always want to see the Wonders of the World. Start off in the Far East, like China. Maybe we should visit the Great Wall one day." He twists his lips aside, thinking about this wild idea.

"I reluctantly say yes. But I will try to go with you." She exhales deeply.

"I want to have sex with you in one of the finest resorts in the Maldives." He chuckles.

"That's more intriguing."

"I want to hold your hand when we watch Faith receives her MD diploma."

"That absolutely will happen so you don't have to put it in the list." She grimaces.

"I want to dine with you at Le Jules Verne on the Eiffel Tower and spend a night on a cruise along the Seine." Owen's mind wanders to the most romantic city in the world.

"Sounds great. I lived in Zurich for five years but never got a chance to visit Paris. I miss Europe sometimes." She nods.

"What about you? Is there anything you want to do with me?" He turns around and strokes her hair.

"Anything I do with you makes me happy, Owen. I don't have a list. Now, goodnight." She kisses his forehead and turns off the light.

….


	16. All Through The Night

_**Hi, so, new chapter for you. I will try to update one chapter per day but I can't promise that because before each update, I have to edit the chapter. And I'm kinda busy these days._

_Anyway, I hope you'll like it. Friendly reminder that my Cristina and Owen in this fanfic have married 18 years and have spent 20 years being the love of each other's life. So their love can't be fresh and wild like the first days, you know. They grow old and they have a family. In reality, this must be a really fortunate family since the mother hasn't entered menopause and the father hasn't experienced midlife crisis. _

_Anyway, I hope you have the strength to stick to the end. I love drama, I believe drama is what makes my OTP stronger, if they're meant to be. And there will never be sad ending or hero death in my fanfic._

_Last but not least, decision to change the fanfic to Owen's Anatomy is abolished. I love the current name TODAY HAS BEEN OK. It is a song played in GA and I love it very much. Favorite line is **'Cause life has been insane but today has been okay."** The song inspired me to write this fanfic, with the underlying theme is: Whatever comes in the way, the Hunt family members will stick together and fight. Love gives them strength and guides them the way, so at night when they lay in beds and think about their day , they can rest assured and smile "Today has been OK."_

_Very last last, I totally love your reviews. :)_

* * *

**ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT**

**We have no past we won't reach back  
Keep with me forward all through the night  
And once we start the meter clicks  
And it goes running all through the night  
Until it ends there is no end**

The next afternoon, Owen reluctantly strolls to the Oncology department. He tried to spend his day being productive by visiting the pit to save some lives then hiding behind the desk signing a bunch of papers. But now is the moment of truth, and he can't delay anymore. He sits at the waiting area impatiently, waiting for Dr. Winston to come and talk to him.

"Dr. Hunt, please come in."

Owen follows the oncology doctor to the exam room. The sound of the door closing suddenly gives him goosebumps. He feels like the life he envisions for himself is closed upon him. He takes a deep breath then listens to Dr. Winston's diagnosis.

"It's the beginning of stage III renal carcinoma, Dr. Hunt. The cancer has covered up your right kidney and metastasized to the nearby lymph nodes. But looking on the bright side, it hasn't spread to any distant organ such as lung, liver or bone."

"What is my option then?" Owen asks him.

"The best option is a nephrectomy and a lymphadenectomy."

"So I lose my right kidney and a few lymph nodes. What other options do I have?" Owen rolls his eyes.

"Ablation, if you choose not to have a surgery. But surgery is the best option for you, Dr. Hunt."

"What's my survival rate?" Owen takes a deep breath and prepares for the answer.

"53% of patients live for 5 years or longer."

"What happens after the surgery?"

"We put you on chemotherapy to make sure the surrounding tissues are cancerous free. In addition, you can participate in my renal carcinoma clinical trial. Our goal is to prevent metastasis for post-op patients and the successful rate is now 80%"

"How soon should I have the surgery?"

"As soon as possible. You know your carcinoma cell grows in every second. If you agree, we can set you up for a nephrectomy tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m." Dr. Winston smiles at Owen.

"Dr. Winston, you know I'm the chief of surgery. Starting on the treatment means I have to inform the board of my sickness and hand over all of my work to some other doctor." Owen sighs.

"Yes, sir, I understand. Now that you are aware of all your options, I hope you make your decision soon and we can start on your treatment."

"Book me for a nephrectomy at 9:00 a.m the day after tomorrow, Dr. Winston. And thank you for keeping this secret long enough. It's time to reveal the truth."

Owen slowly leaves the Oncology department and walks back to his office. He is too desperate to realize Meredith has spied him since he walked in the hospital.

_He just departs the Oncology wing._ Meredith texts to Cristina.

_Well then find out what's wrong with him._ Cristina replies to her friend.

…

Owen throws himself down the leather chair behind his desk. He needs to write a leave of absence letter and find someone to hand over this chief of surgery job. Also, he will have to revise the bidding plan with Derek and Jackson because he will not be able to attend the banquet this time. Finally, Owen still has to find another trauma surgeon to cover his shifts in the pit. He needs to make all these decisions in the remaining 2 hours so that he can have an urgent meeting with the board tomorrow morning.

"Dr. Bailey, I know we barely talk out of the hospital scope, but will you come to Joe with me today? I have something to talk to you." Owen enters the OR where Miranda Bailey is performing a colectomy. She looks up at him in surprise and eventually nods her head: "I will be done in half an hour, Dr. Hunt. I will see you at Joe then."

"What is it, Dr. Hunt?" Dr. Bailey sits on the stool next to Owen over the counter, and he passes on to her a large glass of beer. Miranda Bailey can see Owen has finished his second Single Malt Scotch. As the third one is brought over, she abruptly takes away the tumber glass from his hand.

"Dr. Bailey, it's my drin…" Owen grimaces.

"Shut up and tell me what's going on?" She yells at Owen with her bossy demeanor.

Owen smiles: "Relax, Dr. Bailey. I'm going to appoint you the Chief of Surgery tomorrow morning. I have firm belief that the board members and the chief executive officer should be two separate bodies, so you are the best candidate for the person I could think of. Now I know this comes as a surprise to you, and we have plenty big projects going on in the hospital, so I would like to see you early tomorrow morning to walk you over the position before the board meeting. I don't have so much time to do this."

Still with a hand on her hip, Miranda Bailey narrows her eyes and stares at him: "I will say NO unless you tell me why you_ don't have so much time to do this_?"

"Ah…you will know about it, sooner or later." He sheepishly smiles with sadness in his eyes.

"Tell me or you will suffer the Nazi." She snorts at him.

Owen sighs. "Alright…I've got stage III renal carcinoma that has spread to two nearby lymph nodes. I'm going to have a nephrectomy and lymphadenectomy with subsequent chemo treatment. Now will you hand me my single malt scotch?"

Dr. Bailey reluctantly passes to Owen his drink. She observes him carefully and finally speaks up: "Dr. Hunt, if you want, just refer me and I will perform those two procedures. I will make sure there is no cancer cell remained in your kidney or any other tissue."

"You do have good steady hands. I will be glad to be your patient." Owen chuckles.

"And I really suggest you take part in the clinical trial of your oncology doctor that I'm aware of. I've seen many patients completely prevented from metastasis by taking that radiation pill. If your body reacts well with this treatment, you don't even have to go through the excessive chemotherapy. I've heard the successful rate is 80%."

"So you mean there are many chances that I will survive?" He smirks.

"It's not that easy to get to die, Dr. Hunt. I personally have hope on your case, so why don't you also keep high hopes? You were a soldier. You were a fighter. You taught residents not to stop trying until the patients take their last breath. Now apply those lessons to your own life. You fight for yourself, you fight for Cristina, and for the children that are about to become the next generation of doctors in your family."

Owen feels touched by the heartfelt lecture from Dr. Bailey. He murmurs: "The survival rate is 53%, Dr. Bailey. We're talking about whether the glass is half full or half empty."

"No, it's statistics, and it is 53% nationwide. The successful rate of having a complete tumor removal under Dr. Bailey's hands is over 85%."

"You're the best, Bailey. I look forward to be your patient." Owen gently smiles, he places a hand on this short and solid woman's shoulder.

"Now, I'll call you a cab and you should go home. You're drunk. It's time you tell your family members." She orders him.

"No I don't….."

"No, you need to tell Cristina or she will hate you forever. Plus, mental support is one of the factors that increases the survival rate, you know that. So don't argue with me here. You tell her or I will tell her." She snorts at Owen then pulls him out of the bar.

….

Cristina sits at her desk and looks over the window, hand holding a cup of coffee. She has been sitting in the same position for hours because she is busy processing the news that Meredith told her. She knows Owen doesn't want to tell her, but she also knows they need to talk about it as soon as possible, because he has cancer and cancer cell does spread every second. She resists the urge to go home because she is not ready to receive the news officially from Owen. Cristina can't cry even she wants to, and her eyes just turn darker. She sits and drinks coffee and tries to find a solution to this problem. She always has solutions to every problem.

_You should go home now, Cristina. He needs you_. The phone lights up and Cristina turns around to look at Meredith's message.

Reluctantly, Cristina stands up and leaves her office. She drives home slowly and listens to the classical music station on the radio as the rain falls heavily outside the window. It's a sad day. She wants to be hugged, but she knows she needs to be strong now, because Owen and the children will lean on her at this difficult time.

Cristina enters her house and sighs at the familiar silence that has existed for a few weeks already. Owen usually sleeps while waiting for her, and then she will wake him up to have dinner with him before they both go back to sleep. It's like a routine. The work extracts the crap out of their energy, leaving two old, lonely corpses holding on to each other at night.

Reluctantly, she walks to her bedroom and stares at Owen. As expected, he is sleeping, this time with his shirt and pants on. And he's drunk. Probably he had a rough day dealing with his own problem. Cristina gently takes off his shoes in grimace; she doesn't like it when people wear shoes and go around the house. Next she unbuttons his shirt and pants. She walks over the closet to find decent pajamas and helps him put on.

Owen blinks his eyes a few times as he is woken up by his wife. "Cristina."

Out of the sudden, Owen pins her down the bed and hugs her tight. His heavy arms and legs wrap around her, making it hard to breathe. She gasps and tries to remove his arms from her body. "Owen.."

Owen moves his arm lower to her abdomen so that his wife can catch a breath. He snuggles closer to her and snores weakly. He has fallen asleep again.

"Owen, have you got dinner? I need to have some dinner." Cristina gently shakes him.

Still, he holds her tight.

"I have stage III renal carcinoma that has metastasized to the lymph nodes." He mumbles to her ear.

Cristina lies silently. Suddenly, she feels a wave of pain fluttering in her chest. She can tell her eyes are teary, yet she tries not to let the tears fall down on her face. She constantly tries to keep herself strong and composed.

"We've been fighting together since the day we met each other. And I'm gonna fight with you, Owen. There's nothing to fear. This too shall pass. Nothing can break us down."

Cristina murmurs those words with a feeling of denial in her head. She was lying when she said there's nothing to fear. She is scared to death that he will leave her alone in this world. She is a surgeon, for God's sake; she knows stage III renal carcinoma is roughly 50%.

"Do you want to have dinner, Owen? The service brought us grilled salmon and grilled vegetables medley. It's your favorite dish." Cristina shakes Owen gently again.

"I'm okay. I just want to sleep. You go and have dinner." He removes his arm from her body and lets her go.

…

Cristina glances at the clock as she finishes washing the dishes: it's already 10:30 p.m. Normally, she helped Owen put the plates in the dishwasher and quickly resumed to the bathroom, taking the workload off her shoulder by standing under the shower. Yet today, she can't relax. Her mind doesn't allow her body to relax. The caffeine in four cups of coffee that she had earlier starts to kick in, and she feels her heart racing in the chest. She feels restless; so she walks around the house, organizing the books on the shelves or cleaning the wooden floor of the hallway. It is very abnormal of Cristina to do the housework, but what can she say, everything is abnormal today. Everything is abnormally painful.

When there is nothing left to be cleaned or fixed, Cristina reluctantly resumes to her bedroom. She gently opens the door, her pupils adjusting to the darkness in the room and observing Owen sleeping peacefully on their bed. Cristina decides to go upstairs and takes the shower in Faith's bathroom instead. The lukewarm stream of water sooths her body and mind. As she walks out of the bathtube and stares at her delicate body in the mirror, she sees a reflection of her red eyes; and out of the sudden, tears start to fall down her thin cheeks.

She lies down on Faith's bed and stares at the ceiling. The smell of lavender, which is Faith's favorite lotion, still lingers on the sheet and the pillow cover. She grabs the pillow and presses it onto her face in an attempt to reduce the sobbing sound. Missing the children's presence and thinking of Owen having cancer, Cristina can't help but cry hysterically.

"Cristina?" Owen stirs and gradually wakes up as the alcohol wears off. His hands search around the sheet but he doesn't feel her appearance. He stumbles out of the bed and enters the bathroom but Cristina is not there. Curious, he starts to go around the house yet he can't either find his wife in the kitchen, the living room or the library.

Owen opens the front door to see Cristina's car still in the parking lot. He locks the door then walks upstairs. Seeing the door of Faith's bedroom is half open, he quietly sneaks in. Cristina is weeping bitterly on her daughter's bed.

"Cristina…" Owen quickly climbs on the bed and holds her tight. It is the second time that he witnesses Cristina crying this much, given the first time she cried because he cheated on her. He applies deep pressure to her body, patiently waiting for her sympathetic response to decelerate. He gently takes away the pillow and pulls her curly hair to the back so that she can breathe easier.

"Sh…Cristina…I'm here." Owen whispers to Cristina's ear and strokes her hair as she reduces her sobbing gradually. He walks over to Faith's desk and pulls out some paper tissue, and then he dries the damp on her face, neck and chest. He secretly shakes his head as he sees the wet on the front chest of her shirt as well as the bedding sheet. Cristina rarely cries; yet she has been sobbing hysterically twice because of him.

"Let's go down." Owen tries to pull her up but Cristina just insists on lying here. He walks out of the bed and picks her up then carries her down to their bedroom.

"Shh…it's gonna be okay." Owen grabs a face towel and dampens it with cool water then he cleans her face. The coolness of the towel makes Cristina feel refreshed; she tries to stop crying and hence she starts sniffling. He resumes to his bed and hugs Cristina, one hand gently strokes her hair.

"I try to be strong but I can't…" She quietly murmurs.

"I can't, either." He sighs.

"But this is not the end, Owen." Cristina starts to collect her calmness. "Cancer happens to many people in the world, especially people at our age. And people fight. I mean, if you look at Izzie, she had stage IV metastatic melanoma yet she fought, she fought for herself and she won."

"I know, I'm not giving up, Cristina." Owen sighs. "I'm just, I'm just tired of everything. It's easier said when your mind is lucid and your physique is robust. It's easier said when you fight for others. I mean, I have 53% chance to survive. I fought all my life and now I have 53% chance to survive. Dr. Bailey offered to perform the surgery and suggested me to participate in the clinical trial, which would potentially increase the survival rate. Yet I never hate probabilities like this before. I feel unfair that this crap is happening to me."

Cristina turns around and cups his face in her hands. "Owen, do you love me?"

"Of course." He gazes at her yearningly.

"Then you fight, Owen. Your life is not yours to give up; it is mine, it is mine, and I forbid it, okay?"

"Okay." Owen whispers. Cristina can see the redness in his eyes. She leans closer to him and showers him with kisses.

"What does the oncology doctor suggest?" She asks as she removes her lips from his.

"Start off with nephrectomy and lymphadenectomy. After that, I can either choose chemotherapy or radiation therapy. I'm not worried about the surgeries, Cristina. I'm worried that the therapy destroys me and my life." He murmurs.

"There's nothing to worry about. All you have to do is be a good patient and enjoy life as much as you do now. I will take care of everything, Owen. I promised to take care of my Major Hunt as long as I live. And I'm gonna keep that promise." She gently smiles at him.

"I guess the good news is I can boss you around when I'm in the patient bed." Owen chuckles. His hand caresses her cheek.

"Uh huh. You'd better take advantage of this one of a lifetime opportunity. It's a privilege to have Dr. Cristina Yang follow your demand." She beams at him.

"So will Dr. Cristina Yang prepare dinner for me then?" He teases her.

"Well, that is a very tough request. But yes, I will try to learn how to cook and make healthy meals for you. I'm not promising anything though." She rolls her eyes.

"What happened to _I will take care of everything_ and _I will follow your demand?" _Owen chuckles.

"Fine. I will make excellent dinners for you. Anyway you need to have a healthy diet when you're under chemo. You need to exercise, too. Now that's Dr. Cristina Yang's order." She casts a side glance at him.

"Yes, ma'am. What about having sex with my wife anytime of the day?" He smiles mischievously.

"Okay. As long as you do your chemotherapy well, eat healthy meals and exercise to Dr. Yang's order, sex is granted anytime you want."

"How about now? I want my request to be granted now." Owen sits up and climbs on top of Cristina and showers her with kisses on her cheeks and neck.

"You really can't be sad for too long." She gently shoves him aside.

"What can I say. I'm happy when I'm with my wife." He raises his voice. Then he turns around and sneaks his hand inside Cristina shirt and squeezes her boobs.

"I'm not done yet!" She hits his hand and pulls it off from her shirt. "Owen, I'm still serious here. I want you to promise me one thing." Cristina gives Owen a stern look.

"What is it?"

"Don't be foolish like Izzie and sign the DNR or any other stupid paperwork that prevent me to save your life. If you happen to do that stupid thing, I swear to God I will hate you forever and I will make sure our children hate you as hell." She snorts at him.

"Okay. I know. I'm gonna fight for my wife and my children." He nods his head.

"Uh huh, keep that list of the things you want to do with me in mind. I look forward to our trips to China, or Paris, or the Maldives. I can't wait to have a vacation after all this crap is over." She grimaces.

"I will, Cristina. I will be soft and scared at times in the future, please tell me to fight. Please be there for me." He pulls her head to his chest.

"Do you know Stephen Hawking, the man who is famous for his theory on the black hole and relativity?" Cristina asks him.

"Yeah?" He quietly answers.

"He has ALS and motor neuron disease so he's pretty much paralyzed and he can't talk at all. His wife was once asked to end his misery and remove his life support machine by the doctors. But she refused to do so, and he survived to publish the bestseller The Brief History of Time, which changed the face of science." Cristina looks straight into Owen's eyes.

"You will be that wife for me, right?" Owen gently smiles.

"I will be that wife for you. So don't do anything stupid and give up your life. It's precious. We are trained to save people's life and we need to treasure our lives."

"I know, Cristina. This too shall pass. I can't bear not living with you and seeing you every day." He sheepishly smiles at her.

"Or having sex with me every day." She chuckles.

"Yeah, I'm going to treasure every minute with my wife." Owen sits up again and takes off his clothes. He strips off Cristina's shirt and pants and quickly penetrates her. He never feels his desire burning wilder.

"Oh, who dares say this man has cancer. He is as wild as a beast." Cristina jokes in between her moans.

"Cancer cannot tame the beast, honey." He laughs before he thrusts harder and releases his energy into her tunnel. Owen collapses on top of Cristina. They both gasp and sweat heavily.

She gently shoves Owen aside and stares at the ceiling.

"When is your surgery?" She murmurs.

"The day after tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m." He wraps his hand around her body.

"Do we tell the kids?" She asks.

"I…don't know. I don't want to. I don't want them to worry about me. They are busy with schooling." Owen sighs.

"Yeah. That's what I thought at first. Then I remember how I told everyone about Izzie's cancer; and you should remember how Beth felt when she learned that her father had cancer for years." She turns her head and looks at him.

"They will worry about me and can't focus on their study." He shakes his head.

"If you don't tell them, they will detest you once they find out. It's something we don't want to but we have to do, Owen. We can start with…Teddy. She's the calm and cheerful child. She will be able to handle this news. I will let her know tomorrow." Cristina explains to Owen.

"Okay." He sighs.

They both stare at each other without saying anymore. The silence is rather comfortable, they just lay there and caress each other.

"Why can't you sleep Cristina? It's almost dawn." He quietly speaks up.

"I drank four cups of coffee. Anyway, it was happy staying up and talking with you all night." She gently smiles.

"I will hold an urgent board meeting tomorrow to turn in my leave of absence letter as well as assignDr. Bailey the duties. After that I revise the bidding plan with Derek and Jackson." He shares his agenda to her.

"I'm glad you're off the bidding, Owen. To be honest, there's no way you win the bid. I have government's financial support." She gazes at him.

"What is your plan to buy this pharmaceutical company then?" He holds his breath.

"I'm pretty much after the land and the equipments of the company. I'm building a medical school, Owen." She smiles victoriously.

"A medical school?" He blinks his eyes.

"Uh huh, not a teaching hospital, or a research department, or anything. I'm building a medical school. Washington only has one medical school and the Board of Education can't be happier that I'm building the second one for the state."

"Wow…it's been 20 years and you never cease to surprise me. You are amazing, Cristina Yang." Owen kisses her forehead.

* * *

_**Literally all through the night, isn't it?_


	17. Carry You Home

_**Hi, first of all thank you for the thoughtful reviews. I guess I should take tears/crying/sobbing/box tissue as a compliment? :)_

_Second, some of my readers wonder how Owen could tell other people about his cancer before Cristina and his children. Well, do you recall the first person Izzie told about her cancer? It's Cristina. I think it makes total sense that once you figure out on your own that you have cancer, you are reluctant to tell the people you love because you're afraid they can't handle it. Instead, you normally go tell the people that you consider emotionally detached. That's the point._

_Third of all, my dear readers, I know Owen's sickness breaks your heart, but let's take a minute to appreciate the fact that Cristina is building a medical school. The second medical school for Washington State!_

_Last but not least, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I look forward to your feedback. :)_

* * *

**CARRY YOU HOME**

**A song for your heart, but when it is quiet**

**I know what it means and I'll carry you home.**

**I'll carry you home...**

Teddy turns up the volume when _Radioactive, _the song that she's been obsessed for a few days, is aired on her favorite station. Somehow the bass, the beats and the rapid tempo magically calm her mind as she is on the way from Berkeley to Stanford. It only takes Teddy 50 minutes to drive on the route that is mapped for one hour and ten minutes. She's in a hurry. She wants to visit her father before his surgery.

"Ding dong." Teddy impatiently rings her sister's apartment. Bailey shows up at the front door, surprised:

"Teddy, what are you doing here?"

"Is Faith inside? I need to see her." She looks anxious.

"Come in. She's not in the apartment right now. Have you tried calling her?"

Teddy walks inside the apartment and sits on the couch while Bailey fetches her a bottle of water.

"I've called her twenty times already but she doesn't pick up the phone. Is she with Daniel again?" Teddy swallows half the bottle of water then catches a breath.

"She's in the library. She'll have a very big presentation that counts 25% of the course grade tomorrow, so looks like she's gonna be there with her group mates all night." Bailey sits down next to Teddy and gives her a concerning look. "What's wrong with you now?"

"My dad…my dad, he's diagnosed with stage III kidney cancer and he's gonna have a big surgery tomorrow. I want to be home but when I searched for the flight tickets, the earliest flight to Seattle is at 8:00a.m tomorrow and that will be too late." She stutters.

"Calm down, Teddy. We'll see what we can do." Bailey pats Teddy's back as she's about to cry again. "Do Theo and Faith know about your dad's condition?"

"No, they both don't pick up the phone. Theo is with his chess team to Los Angeles for a competition already, that's why I come here and look for Faith. We can drive home tonight and see our dad in time." Bailey can see this little girl is shaking.

"You plan to drive twelve hours straight, Teddy? That's insane. Plus, I don't think Faith can go with you. As I said tomorrow's presentation is very important to her. You should wait until she's done tomorrow then tell her." Bailey gazes at her with disbelief.

"Okay, please don't tell me what to do again. I don't care if you think I'm crazy. If Faith can't go with me then I'll go alone. I drive pretty well." Teddy gives Bailey a stern look then stands up, intending to leave.

"Hold on, dear. I have an idea. Wait here and let me see." He holds her hand and pulls her down the couch. Bailey surfs the internet on his phone for ten minutes or so, then his face suddenly brightens up.

"We can drive to Oregon which takes about seven hours. There's a flight from Portland to Seattle and the plane departs at 6:00am, which means you can be at Seattle in time to see your dad before surgery."

"Really? But then I'll have to leave my car in Oregon." She looks puzzled.

"No, we'll rent a car here and we'll drop it at Portland airport. That way you can leave your car at my place." He grins.

"Thank you, Bailey. You always help me out. I'll see you later." Teddy stands up once more and Bailey pulls her down again.

"Teddy, I'll go with you. I'm not gonna let you drive seven hours straight in the dark. You're not an experienced driver." He shakes his head and sighs.

"No, Bailey, you have class tomorrow. You can't just skip class because of me. I can handle this." She is very keen on leaving by herself.

"My group presented the case two weeks ago; I can skip tomorrow's class. Let me go with you. I wanna be with you."

Teddy's tears start to fall down as she hears his concern. "I'm sorry to bother you, Bailey. I'm really not okay today. I want to be with my dad because he has cancer, for God's sake. It's not any random fever or illness. It's cancer."

As a habit, Bailey gently wipes away the tears on her face. "Shh…I hear you. We will be there to see your dad."

They take a cab to Aukland Airport then rent a car to start their journey to Oregon. Bailey glances at the clock when he turns on the engine, it's 8:50 pm. Hopefully, they can arrive at Portland Airport in less than seven hours so that he can have an hour nap eventually.

Bailey gets on the freeway and starts to accelerate the speed. The interstate freeway is rather empty at night, so he drives a little bit faster than the limit. Occasionally, he turns his head to look at Teddy, who is longing out to the window and placing her chin against her palm. She looks deep in thoughts. He has seen this view before; it was the night after he held her hands through the popcorn package and made her upset. The more Bailey gets to know Teddy, the more he is exposed to a full spectrum of human's feelings. She can be so content in the morning and so melancholic in the evening. She can also laugh and cry at the same moment, just as she did when her parents scolded at her in Bailey's apartment. He thinks he loves Teddy because she has chosen to live to her heart's content.

"Are you okay, Teddy?" Bailey breaks up the silent atmosphere in the car.

"I knew…we knew something was wrong when he started to get thinner and get fevers in the afternoons. He always had super duper immune system. And now he has cancer. It's unbelievable and unbearable." Teddy shakes her head when thinking about her father.

"Yeah. Cancer occurs to people, Teddy. You just have to accept the fact and fight. Your father will fight, Teddy. He's a soldier." Bailey gently smiles, his eyes still focus to the dark road ahead of them.

"I will fight with him as well. I can sob all night now, but my father will only see the cheerful and supportive me. The chemotherapy will bring him down and make him moody, and he will need someone to lighten his day up. And my mom can't do that. She's busy building…" Teddy suddenly pauses. She remembers the non-disclosure that she signed in the board meeting.

"She's building what?" Bailey is curious of what Teddy is about to say. He's well aware that Grey Sloan is a rival of Kraums Institute.

"Nothing." Teddy grins at Bailey. Oh my, this girl is really not simple.

There's another comfortable silence as they both stare at the dark road. Bailey hears the thunders roaring from afar, he expects they are entering a rainy area.

"Do you feel sad about my father's cancer?" She suddenly raises her voice.

"What?" Bailey is unprepared for such question. He thought Teddy has shifted her thoughts toward some other topics, but it seems like she's still concerned about her father.

"It's okay, I don't expect you to have sympathy for my father. I would feel sad if Uncle Derek has cancer, however. I like him a lot. Unlike you, Bailey, he was always sweet and nice to me. He usually took me to the cafeteria and bought me ice cream when he saw me in the hospital with my dad." She gazes at Bailey and gives him a half sincere, half mischievous smile.

"Okay, you keep mentioning how I mistreated you when we were young. Was I really that bad?" Bailey smiles.

"Of course. You were hateful. I hated you very much." She genuinely laughs.

Bailey feels delighted to hear this little girl's laughter again. There is a moment of thoughts, then he clears his throat.

"Of course I feel sad and sorry that Uncle Owen has cancer, dear. He was always nice to me, until recently when he saw me with you. He's protective when it comes to his daughters, but I can understand that. I would probably raise my daughters the same way your father does."

"You're more mature than your age. You keep thinking about having a family and children." Teddy comments on Bailey's last sentence.

"You're also more mature than your age. You're caring, Teddy. And I love that." He gently smiles.

Bailey gives a stolen glance at Teddy who is looking down, probably blushing. He loves how his relationship with Teddy is playing out slowly but surely. The more he gets to know her, the more he's glad that Owen raises his daughters this way. Both Teddy and Faith have ladylike demeanor, and Bailey finds it quite charming. Well, to be honest, Teddy is not very much like her sister. She still has the characteristic of a youngest child: carefree and sniveling; yet she is quite different than the girls he has met, whose lives are all about romantic love, boys and sex.

Teddy changes the radio to classical music station. Bailey secretly grimaces, for this music induces sleep to him. Yet he doesn't comment on this because he's seen her yawning several times. She must have been crying the whole afternoon after she heard the news, and crying makes her sleepy. He glances at her snoring weakly and chuckles. Now his mind can be free from loving and caring feelings for a moment. He can shift his concentration back to medicine. As he said, medicine was his sole focus. Well, incorrect: medicine is his main focus. He also has another focus in his life, now that Uncle Owen has approved it.

Anyway, back to medicine. As Bailey is driving, he tries to remember the symptoms of the diseases he has learnt in his Immunology class. He will have a quiz the day after tomorrow and he has only studied one third of the chapter.

The car rushes through the darkness in silence for two hours or so when a thunder roars wildly and Teddy wakes up. She blinks her eyes a few times and glances at the clock which indicates 1:30a.m. She adjusts her seat upright and drinks some water to stay awake.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Bailey. I have fallen asleep for two hours." She panics.

"It's okay. I'm not sleepy." He quietly answers.

"You should have some sleep. I'm wide awake now. I can take over the wheel." Teddy insists.

"I said it's okay. Don't worry, I'm very flexible about sleeping. Medical school trains you to sleep whenever you want and stay awake whenever you want." Bailey gently smiles.

"That's why Faith's eyes are tired and with dark circles now. She used to have beautiful eyes." Teddy sheepishly giggles.

"Yes, I agree she has beautiful eyes." Bailey recalls how his friend's eyes winkle every time she smiles.

"Anyway, I'm awake now. I should keep you company as you drive. I owe you a lot, Bailey, I wish there's something I can do in return." Teddy genuinely confesses.

Bailey smirks. He likes it that Teddy usually feels guilty about his generosity and eventually she offers to do some favor for him. Last time, he said he wanted to date her. But now what favor from Teddy does Bailey want?

"I don't know yet. When I figure out I'll let you know." Bailey chuckles.

"Oh that sounds just like my line. Just a friendly reminder that you still owe me one favor. And I will let you know once I figure out." She snorts at him.

"Okay. My pleasure." He beams at her.

"Anyway, I really wish you don't have to skip class, Bailey." She sighs, thinking about how she ruined his tomorrow.

"Tomorrow class is not important to me as of now. If you feel guilty, I can give you my lectures and you can ask me questions from it. How about that?"

"Deal." Teddy beams at him.

Bailey removes his Iphone from his jeans and hands it to Teddy. "It's in the notes app." She opens the app and looks at the list of notes currently appeared on the screen. She's surprised to see all sort of random notes Bailey saved in his Iphone. Based on the first line of each note, she can tell some of them are lecture notes he took in class; others are addresses of restaurants in Stanford that he likes, and so on.

"Look for the fourth one from top down." Bailey instructs her.

Teddy shifts her sight to the fourth note, of which first sentence is "Immune class 6". What pops up to her eyes is the note right below it, of which the first sentence is "I'm in love with you, Teddy Hunt." She bites her lip to prevent a smile. Quickly, Teddy opens the note and read the contents:

_I'm in love with you, Teddy Hunt. Why do you keep breaking my heart?_

Looking at the date, Teddy realizes it's the night before the banquet that they argued about Bailey hooking up with Jasmine. She gently shakes her head, thinking about how foolish she was. She types in the note:

_I love you too,Bailey.-Teddy._

_"_What are you doing? Can you find it?" Bailey is furious.

"You have many cool games in here. Anyway, note number four. I will ask you the symptoms and you tell me the disease, okay?" She smiles at him.

"Okay." Bailey nods. His eyes still focus on the road ahead.

"Cough, shortness of breath, wheezing, bluish color to the lips and face, rapid pulse…."

"Athsma."

"Fever, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes in neck, groin and under the arm…"

"Burkitt lymphoma."

...

Teddy continues to ask Bailey's lessons as the car rushes swiftly through the border of the state. When they arrive at Portland Airport, Bailey looks at his watch which indicates 2:00 a.m.

"Great, we arrive two hours earlier than planned." He grins.

"Let's walk to the Holiday Inn and we can take a nap there." Teddy suggests.

"Why not stay at Hyatt? It's just four floors above us?" Bailey gestures his head towards the escalator, his eyebrows furrow with confusion.

"It's very expensive, Bailey. It's like three hundred per night!" She rolls her eyes.

"So? I can afford it." He grimaces.

"No, you paid for the car rental and the flight tickets already. I owe you a lot. I'm gonna pay for the hotel, and I want to stay at Holiday Inn. It's eighty dollars per night." She shakes her head firmly.

"Since you're on a tight budget then why don't we sleep on the bench now?" He groans.

"No, you've been driving for almost six hours. You deserve a decent place to sleep. You can stay at Hyatt or the bench if you like, I'm gonna head to Holiday Inn. It's just half a mile. It's the next building, Bailey." Teddy walks away before Bailey has another chance to argue with her.

"Fine." He rolls his eyes then chases after her.

"Seriously, how rich are you?" Teddy twists her lips aside and casts a side glance at Bailey as they strolls towards Holiday Inn.

"Multiple times richer than you." He sheepishly smiles as he walks next to her.

"Like, how multiple? I have $9,000 in my account." She purses her lips.

Bailey rolls his eyes and thinks for a moment. Then he murmurs. "Six times."

"You have $54,000 in your account? How did you make such big money? Did you play stock?" Teddy drops her jaw.

"I…just have." Bailey shakes his head and blushes.

"Oh, you're lucky. My mom never gives me a lot of money. Sometimes my dad gives me a hundred bill, and that's all. They say they only take care of my dorm and my tuition expense, of which my scholarship already covered a hundred percent. That is so unfair." She grimaces.

"Well, your dad bought you a Mercedes Benz." Bailey beams at her.

"Right, that's true. I guess he loves me very much." She chuckles.

"Come one, walk faster, Teddy. It's about to rain. You have such short legs." He teases her as he hears the thunders roaring.

Teddy stares at him then runs after Bailey.

"Too late." Bailey shakes his head as the rain starts to pour heavily on them.

"Do you want to go back to the airport?" Teddy yells out as the sound of the rain is louder than her voice.

"We're more than halfway. Let's run faster." Bailey holds her hand then pulls her forward to the Holiday Inn that stands afar in the foggy rain.

They run for five minutes and finally arrive at the circulation desk of Holiday Inn.

"Double bed please." Bailey impatiently taps his finger on the counter. Water keeps dropping from their soaked clothing onto the floor.

"Sorry." Teddy miserably smiles at the receptionist.

The receptionist slowly types on his computer for a while. He eventually shakes his head with regret.

"Sorry, we run out of double bed room. We only have suites and single king bed."

Bailey turns around to look at Teddy. Since she's the one to pay, he lets her make the decision.

"How much is the suite and how much is the one bed room?"

"The suite is $265 and the single bed is $75."

"Please book us the single bed room."

They go on an elevator to the third floor and stop at room 312. After they enter the room, Bailey opens his suitcase and takes out the laptop.

"I hope it is not wet." Teddy gives him a concern look.

"No. My suitcase is water proof. The laptop is fine." He smiles then turns on the laptop and sits at the desk.

"What are you doing?" She gives him a quizzical look.

"Study while waiting for you to take a shower." He answers without removing his eyes from the screen.

"I don't bring any clothes with me. I was gonna change my clothes when I come home in Seattle." She sighs.

"Here, take my hoodie." Bailey takes out a green cotton hoodie from his suitcase and hands it to Teddy.

"Still, I don't have…pants." She shakes her head, blushing.

"Ohh…I haven't thought about that." He rolls his eyes.

"But it's okay. I know what to do." She cheerfully takes the hoodie from Bailey and visits the bathroom.

After ten minutes or so, Teddy walks out of the bathroom. Curious, Bailey turns around to look at her. He wonders what she's going to wear in place of her wet jeans. Here she is, swimming in his large hoodie. She wraps a white towel around her belly to replace the soaked bottoms.

"Why are you smiling?" Teddy snorts at Bailey chuckling.

"You're swimming in my hoodie." He stares at her little body with delight.

"It's your turn to take a shower. You're also wet." She purrs her lips.

Bailey walks into the bathroom, chuckling to see Teddy's shirt, jeans and bra align neatly on the hanger. He takes off his clothes and dries everything using the hair dryer before hanging them next to her clothes. When Bailey walks out, Teddy is lying on the tiny couch. She looks at his robust bare chest and flushes.

"What? Don't act like you never saw a man's bare chest before." He rolls his eyes at her facial expression.

"Ignore me." She tries to close her eyes.

"Sleep on the bed, I'll be staying up studying." Bailey gestures his head towards the king bed.

"You study now? We only have 3 hours to sleep. You should sleep on the bed, you are tired, Bailey. I'm happy sleeping here." She smiles at him.

"I already wasted my night, now I have to study to catch up with the material. Well, I don't mean I wasted my night because I really wanted to go with you. It's just that I really have to study otherwise I'll fail this class." He sighs. "Plus, you look miserable in that couch. Just sleep in bed." He insists.

"Okay. It's a big bed. You can sleep on the left side, I will only take a small space on the right side." She smiles. "Looks like my dad is not here to yell at me for sleeping with a man anyway." She mumbles then walks to the bed.

Not long after hearing Teddy's weak snoring, Bailey turns around and gazes at her. He has come to love the feeling of studying in a tranquil night and turning around to witness this little girl sleeping. Bailey is a grown up man; he has his intense desire and affection. Yet when it comes to this little girl, he enjoys things to be progressed in a slow and steady way. There is something innocent and angelic in Teddy that makes him nervous to have physical contact with her. He has touched her bare body, he has swept her sorrow tears, he has planted a kiss on her lips, yet he still regards her as a delicate flower that he only dares observing with great adoration.

Bailey tries to study until 3:20pm but he can't stay awake anymore. He turns off a few lights then walks to the bed and lies down on the left. An evil thought crosses his mind as he stares at her chest pounding rhythmically inside his thin hoodie. "She has a flat chest, just like her mother." He chuckles then quickly falls asleep.

Bailey wakes up exactly at 4:50a.m. He has a habit of waking up early during week days because he knows it's the best time to study. As he blinks his eyes, he realizes he has taken the blanket to his sole use. He must have been cold at night because he was sleeping bare chest. Turning around, Bailey sees Teddy's back facing him. The towel that she wrapped around her bottom was fallen off from her body; it lies flat on the white sheet. He gazes at the cute little butt covered in black lacy panty and shakes his head apologetically. He gently removes the blanket from him and throws it over Teddy's body. Too bad, she's awake now.

Teddy removes the blanket and stares at herself. As she realizes she's only wearing an underwear, she yells out loud. "Oh my god! Did I sleep like this all night?"

"Relax." Bailey sits up and turns away. "I haven't seen anything. I just wake up." He grimaces. This girl is really troublesome.

"How come your towel is still intact with your belly? Did you turn around when you slept at all?" She gazes at him jealously.

"Of course the towel fell off. I just…had the blanket covered me." He murmurs.

"So I sleep in this form all night? With you in my bed? Oh my god." She wraps the towel around her belly then stands up angrily.

"Hey for your record, you asked me to share the bed! Also I have seen you without clothes before. I've seen many naked bodies, Teddy! I'm a medical student! I don't…"

Teddy shuts the bathroom door angrily before Bailey finishes his sentence. Five minutes or so she walks out in her old clothing, gesturing her head towards the bathroom: "Your turn. Quickly, or we'll be late for the flight."

A mischievous idea crosses Bailey's mind. As he walks passed by Teddy, he pats her butt: "Cute butt!" then rapidly enters the bathroom before she has a chance to yell.

…

Teddy stays silent throughout the flight from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. Bailey takes out his laptop and continues to study. When they almost landed, he eventually speaks up.

"Look. I'm sorry. Just wanted to have some fun with you." He sighs.

"It's not about the ass patting thing. I'm fighting with myself internally. I'm supposed to be sad but…I just feel cheerful. I'm a bad daughter." She looks down and murmurs.

"You feel cheerful when you're with me." Bailey is happy to hear Teddy's confession.

"I'm serious, Bailey." She grimaces.

"Look, you don't always have to feel sad when you think about your father. You said you will support him and fight for him, so staying carefree and cheerful is totally a good thing. Come to him with your positive thoughts and I'm sure it will help him recover faster. Mental support plays an important factor in recovering from cancer, Teddy." Bailey glances at Teddy.

"Are you sure?" Her lips gently form a smile.

"I'm sure. You have no idea how powerful your smile has positive impact on people around you, Teddy." He reassures her.

"Thank you, Bailey, for everything." She looks at him, her eyes sparkle with love.

"Can I hug you?" Bailey murmurs.

Teddy quietly nods. Bailey wraps his arm around her shoulder and Teddy leans on his chest. He feels her warmth for the first time.

...

* * *

_**Please don't hate Faith because she always happens to be absent every time Teddy visits her. You know she's away for a reason. Plus there is always two side of a story, wait until you hear Faith's!_


	18. Winter

_**Thanks for the positive feedback on Teddy and Bailey, my friends. To be honest, my original intention was to focus on Faith but not Teddy or Theo. If you read my previous fanfic, you know I love that character very much. I have plenty ideas to write about Faith and Theo, sadly I just don't have time and energy to do it now. So please hold on to your vote and wait until you have full exposures to all of Cristina and Owen's beautiful children before you pick the favorite Crowen's child, okay? :D_

_Special thanks to Katy Oh, your random review always make my day. You know you join a new community and you meet many great people, but you will always remember the first friend that came and befriended with you. It was Katy Oh in my situation._

_I also miss the reviews from Annamria, Sue and many more of you. Am I updating too fast? I hope you spend some little time of your busy day to enjoy my story. I'm busy, too. And reading your reviews make my day happier :)_

_I have great chapters, good chapters and so-so chapters. My Crowen version may be different than your version, but hey, I found immense joy during the course of writing fanfiction. And just so you know, Crowen of a teen writer will be different from Crowen of a 20s writer and different from Crowen of a writer who has family. So, I'm glad if you love my story so far and you choose to stay with me._

_Last but not least, please enjoy the chapter, my awesome readers._

* * *

_**WINTER**_

_**Snow can wait, I forgot my mittens  
Wipe my nose, get my new boots on  
I get a little warm in my heart  
When I think of winter  
I put my hand in my father's glove**_

_**He says, "When you gonna make up your mind**_  
_**When you gonna love you as much as I do**_  
_**When you gonna make up your mind**_  
_**'Cause things are gonna change so fast"**_

Teddy rushes into the hospital and encounters April Kepner at the entrance.

"Aunt April! Do you know my dad's room?" She looks hurry.

"Uh huh, I'll show you the way." April walks with the little girl towards an elevator in the east side of the hospital, then she gestures her head upstairs: "Take the elevator to the third floor, room 303. I'm gonna stay here, I'm heading to the chapel." April gently smiles.

"Wait, you're going to the chapel? Can I come with you?" Teddy murmurs.

"Of…of course. Let's go then." April stutters. She is surprised at the request but she cheerfully nods her head.

April walks the girl to the chapel that she usually spends time when she has a chance. Teddy chooses a bench away from April, kneels down, closes her eyes and mumbles something. April know this girl is praying for her Dad. She quietly smiles and turns back to her own prayer.

After visiting the chapel, Teddy cheerfully departs April and goes up the elevator to see her dad.

Owen is lying on the patient bed with Cristina sitting next to him. He feels strange; given it's the first time he puts on the patient gown. His wife is reading a magazine and he is reading his book as well. They are all mentally and physically prepared for the surgery.

Dr. Miranda Bailey walks into the room with four residents following her. She cheerfully greets him.

"Dr. Hunt. How are you doing? Are you ready for the big day?"

"Can't be any better, Dr. Bailey." Owen chuckles.

Miranda Bailey gestures her head towards a resident. She steps forward, glancing at Owen's chart and starts to present the case. Owen adjusts the bed up straight then crosses his arms, listening carefully to the presentation. It is an opportunity for him to evaluate the students in a completely different perspective.

Cristina stops looking at the magazine and stares at the second resident as she explains to Owen the post-op procedure. Her stern looks makes the resident shaky.

"How soon will the drain be removed after post op?" Cristina snaps at the resident.

"I…I think it's Post op day 1." The resident stutters.

"Drain from the surgical site will be removed before discharge; and foley catheter will be removed after post op day 1 or 2." Cristina corrects the student; she shakes her head and rolls her eyes in disappointment.

"Yang! She is my baby, just like you were twenty five years ago. Wait twenty five years and see how great a doctor she is." Dr. Bailey scolds at Cristina. Owen giggles to hear their conversation.

As soon as the group of residents led by Dr. Bailey has disappeared, Teddy and Bailey walk inside Owen's room. She rushes to her father's bedside and hugs him.

"Dad, I'm home."

Cristina sits up and gazes at Teddy in surprise: "Did you just fly home?"

"Bailey drove me to Oregon and we flew home." She mutters.

Owen gently strokes Teddy's hair the way he usually did when she was little. It feels good to be in his little daughter's embrace.

"Thanks for coming back for me, Teddy. But I hope you won't skip class next time." He sighs.

"Don't worry about me, Dad. I still ace in all my classes. Hey, I went with Aunt April to the chapel and prayed for you. So you will be fine, Dad. I promise you will be fine." She reassures her father.

"How can you _promise_ that he'll be fine when even Dr. Bailey can't make such promise? It is scientifically invalid." Cristina laughs and shakes her head.

"Hey Ma, I'm having a moment with my father here!" Teddy turns around and snaps at her mother. Then she quickly resumes her positive and cheerful version: "I'm sure you will, Dad. You are a fighter. You taught us to fight. So I know you will fight, right?" She beams at Owen.

"I will. Now jump down the bed so the nurse can roll me away." Owen chuckles. He can tell from her shaky voice that the girl is emotional yet she is trying to be strong and supportive to him. He feels content fluttering in his chest, seeing how his daughter is desperately trying to cheer him up.

Teddy jumps down the bed and kisses Owen on his cheek. Cristina walks towards him and squeezes his hand. "I've gotta go to work but I will be back when you're in post op. And I am searching for the most luxurious trip to China that includes visiting the Great Wall. So you'd better do well in the OR. I don't want to waste my money." She snorts at him, trying to maintain her sarcasm demeanor.

"Alright." Owen gently smiles.

"I love you, Owen." Cristina kisses his thin lips as he is rolled away to the OR.

…

Owen blinks his eyes a few times, trying to wake himself up from the dizziness caused by the anesthesia. Through his hazy sight, he spots the presence of some familiar figures in the room. He feels a delicate body approaching him, and realizes it is his wife.

"Hey, you did well in the OR. Dr. Bailey removed the cancerous kidney and two nearby lymph nodes." Cristina holds his hand and gently rubs his forehead.

"So what, am I cancer free now?" He weakly smiles, trying to make a joke.

Cristina doesn't respond to Owen's question. He can see in her eyes a slightest ray of sadness; yet before he can speak up, she gives up her space for other people to come see him.

"You look great, Hunt. Better be back in the field soon, the hospital sucks without you." Derek cheerfully smiles at him.

"Hey Chief, I'm glad the surgery went well." April approaches Owen and shakes his hand.

"Dr. Bailey is now your chief, Kepner." He weakly shakes his head and smiles.

Owen rests on his bed, tired but content that many visitors come and see him after the surgery. He spends hours talking to Meredith then Callie and Arizona. Alex Karev also walks by to say hi to Owen when he's on the way to visit a child patient. What surprises Owen the most is the unexpected visit from Zola, Jasmine and Jane. They keep reminding him how awesome he was as an uncle to take them to the fair and buy them Icees in a hot summery day. Jasmine confesses to Owen that he'll remain a cool uncle in their hearts no matter how grown up and mature they are.

"You're very well liked." Cristina murmurs as she closes the door.

Owen looks at the clock which indicates 6:00 p.m. and exhales deeply. He can't say that he's sad that everyone left, because he feels exhausted after a long afternoon meeting and talking to visitors. Cristina pulls her chair closer to Owen; she stares at him and gently plays with his auburn curls.

"What's wrong, Cristina?" Owen bites his lips. He can taste a little blood coming from the chapped lips.

"Your lips are dry. Have some water." Cristina adjusts the bed and helps him takes a gulp of water. She talks to him in a monotonous voice, which confirms with Owen that Cristina is hiding something.

"We're fighting together. You need to tell me what's wrong." Owen gazes at her.

"Dr. Bailey found another cancerous lymph node that was not shown on the scan. She said she will test other lymph nodes to assess your real situation. Looks like you're gonna have a second surgery and radiation therapy after that." Cristina sighs as she leans her head on his chest.

"Oh, we were prepared for that, Cristina. Don't you break down because today's surgery was just my first battle of the war. And I survived." Owen gently twirls Cristina's curl.

"I will be okay. I will be Stephen Hawking's wife for you. I want to make sure you fight for me." She gently smiles.

There's a gentle knock on the door and Cristina opens to see Faith. Glancing at her father glued to the bed with monitors around him, Faith's stomach is clenched in pain. She wipes her tears and forces a weak smiles "Hi Mom" before entering the room. She rushes towards Owen's bed and kisses his forehead. She smiles at Owen as her tears keep falling down. "Hi Dad. Sorry I come home late."

Unlike Teddy, Faith is usually more sentimental and gentle. Owen feels happy to see his oldest child again.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't expect you to come home. You're in the middle of your busy semester."

Faith sniffles a few times then composes herself. She sits down on a chair next to Owen, hand touching his as she gazes at Cristina.

"Mom, so what's next?"

"Dr. Bailey will perform the second surgery after two days. After that your dad will have radiation treatment to destroy any potential cancerous cell remaining in his body."

Faith slowly exhales and looks straight to Owen's eyes. "We all know it's gonna be tough, Dad. But hey, you taught me to fight for my life when I was six and miserable with my aortic stenosis. So now I want you to fight for your life."

Owen gently nods. Despite his physical weakness, he feels energized because the important women of his life are staying strong and keeping their heads high. He thinks about how his children were taught to be soldiers and now they are requesting their commander to fight till the end. His hard work pays off.

"I'm not depressed, or broken, or wrecked, Faith. My mind is sharp and I will fight against my illness." He gives her a stern look.

The door is slammed opened abruptly and Teddy walks in along with Bailey. Bailey hesitantly stands at the entrance; his experience tells him that a storm is on its way whenever Teddy is among her family.

Faith stands up and approaches Bailey as she sees him. She hugs him and smiles: "Hey, thanks for being there with Teddy. My presentation couldn't be better, Bailey. And I already recorded the lecture you missed for you."

"Don't mention it." Bailey smiles at his friend in response.

Teddy stands next to Cristina and looks very serious. "I talked to Dr. Bailey. Dad will need someone to take care of him when he's under chemotherapy or radiation. So I volunteer to stay with him." Her voice is calm and clear.

"No, Teddy." Owen, Cristina and Faith yell at her all at once.

"Look, I know you all will say so, but let's be honest here: Dad will need a caregiver in the house. And every one is too busy to be that person. Ma is busy with her project, Faith is busy with medical school stuff, and Theo is busy building his resume and be on top of his class. Someone needs to be here with Dad." Teddy paces around the room, hands waving up and down, full of energy. Bailey quietly stares at her and shakes his head, sighing.

"I say NO, Teddy." Owen scolds at her.

"Why not, Dad? I will ask my advisor and have her sign a form allowing me to hold my academic career for a semester. And it's not like I avoid studying at all. I can stay here with you and take CLEP tests, and earn my credits for Calculus, or Principles of Macroeconomics, or even History without having to attend classes. I should have thought about it earlier and graduate sooner than Theo! I mean, what's the point of studying them again when I already learnt them so well in high school?" Teddy is outrageous with her ideas.

"Teddy, that is not a smart idea. That is a foolish idea. You are the youngest and your job is to focus on your study, and nothing else." Faith shakes her head and talks firmly to her sister.

"Oh Faith, it's easier said than done. Will you stay here and take care of Dad then? He has cancer, for God's sake. Why is everyone in the family taking it so lightly? He's gonna go under radiation. He's gonna be in pain and feel exhausted. And no, Dad can't live in the hospital so that some nurse will take care of him. What's the point of having family members then?" Teddy starts to feel weak and vulnerable at her own reasons.

"Teddy, you're being rude and mean to me and Mom. We are discussing his options, don't you dare say what's the point of having family members." Faith scolds at Teddy.

"Don't tell me what to say. You don't even show up until the surgery is done." Teddy glances at her sister. Faith cannot utter another word. She shakes her head and looks down in disappointment.

"Oh Dad, I want to stay here and take care of you. I can't rest assured if you are left fighting with your cancer alone. I am not avoiding my study, Dad. I will take all 5 CLEP exams by November and prove you that I can excellently handle them all." Teddy walks over Owen's bed and sobs miserably on his chest.

Owen pats his youngest daughter's head gently, eyes glancing at Cristina and exhales.

"Teddy, your dad just got out from a major surgery. He needs rest. And you are disturbant in here." Cristina coldly scowls.

"I'm eighteen. I will do what I think is right. You can all blame me because I don't have a life as busy as you, medical nerds. But I will stay here and be the caregiver for Dad." Teddy speaks up with determination.

"Will you take her for a walk, Bailey? Thank you." Cristina glances at the boy standing at the entrance. He lightly walks inside and pulls Teddy out of her father's room.

…

"Bailey, it's important to me that you understand I'm totally aware of what I'm doing. And I think I make the right decision." Teddy waves her hand as she strolls around the hospital yard with Bailey.

Bailey stays silent. He just breathes in and out slowly.

"Bailey?" She asks him again.

"You want my honest opinion? I think you're out of your mind. I know you care about your dad very much, but Faith is right. Your sole focus is your study." He murmurs.

"Everyone is always on her side! Everyone is always opposed me! Even you, Bailey. I mean, I know she loves dad, but she cares about her own career than her family." Teddy exclaims.

Bailey sighs. He murmurs. "Look, I think it is wrong that you talk about your sister like that. I'm sure she feels miserable and tormented because she got stuck with school work while her father was having a surgery in another state. She is sad, that's why she flies back as soon as possible, Teddy. And your words hurt her."

"You're really her close friend, aren't you?" Teddy sighs.

"You don't understand how tough it is in medical school, Teddy. We turn off our phones and isolate ourselves from the world, especially from our families, because we know any news coming from our family affects us deeply. And, we really have no time or energy to worry about anything else other than our tests and exams and rotations. Medical school is consuming, Teddy."

Teddy stays silent.

"Your sister studies very hard, and that's a way to show her appreciation to her parents, Teddy. I really admire her because she stands the second in our class while I'm only ranked the fourth. She sleeps less than five hours per day; she attends all the class sections and takes detailed notes. You don't know that we, medical students, sometimes mix up ingredients to create our own super power energy drink, so that we can stay awake for continuous fifty hours. That said, her flying back and forth to be here for your dad's birthday or his surgery is a huge commitment. It's a big sacrifice in time and energy. Faith loves your parents very much. As much as you do."

Teddy strolls along the pathway around the hospital with Bailey for a while. She looks deep in thought. As they return to the hospital, she eventually murmurs: "I'm wasting your time, energy and effort as well, right? You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in Stanford and study crazily for your upcoming quiz."

"Teddy, it's not what I mean. I chose to go with you!" He exclaims.

"No, Bailey, I really appreciate your being with me and supporting me. I'm not whining or pouting here. I'm talking seriously. You shouldn't invest your feelings or anything in me. I'm wild and crazy, I live the way I want and perceive things the way I want. You are calm, wise and steady. You should see someone in your status, like Faith, for example."

"Teddy, we can't be together when you never consider my feelings. I say I want to be here with you and I chose to be here with you." He sighs miserably.

"No, we can't. I know you don't talk about yourself when you say flying back and forth is a huge sacrifice. But I'm taking your time and energy, Bailey. And I don't want that. You should focus on your study." She shakes her head. Her eyes are teary.

"Are you breaking up with me? Seriously, even before I take you on a date?" Bailey raises his voice bitterly.

"Yes, I am. I'm so sorry, Bailey." She runs inside the hospital and leaves him standing alone, staring at the delicate frame desperately.

Teddy returns to the room to find her father already sleeping. Faith and Cristina both are focusing on the materials in their hands.

"I'm sorry I was out of line, Faith." She looks down and mumbles.

"But I thought about it thoroughly before I decided, Ma. Please get me." She turns around and whispers to Cristina with yearning eyes.

"Teddy, you are smart, that's why you think college is easy for you. Keep in mind that you're just a freshman. You are taking basic classes. Many people drop out college not because they are stupid, Teddy. It's because they are overconfident that they can do well so they take college lightly and start losing passion in studying."

"Ma, I understand what you say. I need you to understand that I don't have an intention to drop out of school whatsoever. I will take five CLEP exams, and you will see I do them well. I promise you I will be very serious and active at school the next semester. Please just let me stay at home and be helpful somehow. You are building a medical school, Ma. Your project is huge. However determined you are to be there for dad, I know you can't handle them all. You will need someone to cook for him and make sure he's healthy. And that person is me."

Cristina feels so touched by her little daughter's honest words. Cristina usually scolds at Teddy because she wants the girl to be less emotional and less involved, but it's her inborn characteristics. Cristina recalls how Teddy prepared dinner for everyone regardless of being lectured earlier the day. She pulls Teddy to her side and holds her hand. "Teddy, you are never the black sheep of the family. You are a very good daughter that we can ever ask for. I accept your request. Now, you still need to flight back to Berkeley tonight to organize your school work and have your academic records held, whatsoever. I'll drive you to the airport."

"Yes, drive her to the airport please, Mom. And you should take a rest. You've been back and forth between Kraum and this place. I can stay with Dad tonight. I'm not leaving 'till tomorrow night." Faith speaks up.

"The bidding is next week. Then I will have much more time to take care of your Dad. And Theo will be back to see him. Things will get better." Cristina nods.

…

Faith occasional shifts her sight from the book to her father lying on the patient bed. She looks at Owen sleeping peacefully with great empathy. She understands how hard her father is fighting to recover from the surgeries and subsequent treatments. With her own childhood experience, she knows the recovering process after a surgery is, in fact, soothing and comfortable. A helpless patient would feel much better after a successful surgery. It's usually the pain and the desperate exhaustion when the inner organs fail that breaks a patient down.

Gazing at Owen, she's glad her father is comfortable for the moment. She knows there are more battles waiting for him ahead, those that are more harsh and fierce.

Dr. Bailey comes in and checks Owen's vital before heading home. Hearing the conversation between Faith and Miranda Bailey, Owen gradually wakes up.

"Hey, Dad, you're awake." She cheerfully smiles.

"Hey, sweetie. What time is it?" Owen murmurs.

"Seven thirty." Faith rolls up the curtain behind her, revealing a rainy Seattle outside the window.

"I'm glad Dr. Bailey gave me a room in the third floor. She knows I love to look out the window." Owen weakly giggles. "What are you doing, sweetie?" He glances over the piles of books Faith put on top of the drawer.

"Oh, I'm studying. I have a quiz the day after tomorrow so I'm reading the book while you sleep." She moves her chair closer to Owen's bed side. "How are you feeling now?"

"How about you look at my chart and tell me?" Owen smiles mischievously.

Faith stands up and grabs her father's chart to have a look. Owen observes her eyebrows curve up for a moment, then her eyes winkle as she smiles: "Everything looks great. You are recovering well. Are you feeling great?" She genuinely smiles. Owen likes to look at Faith when she smiles; she has such beautiful and sharp brown eyes.

"I'm feeling great, especially when my daughter is here."

Faith resumes to her chair, eyes gazing at the view outside the window. Owen looks at her long and sleek black hair, feeling somewhat guilty that he hasn't given her adequate love and attention as Theo and Teddy. He and Cristina spent less time cuddling and talking to their oldest daughter because they were so busy with their work and the twins. Furthermore, Faith was always a mature and responsible daughter, they actually paid less attention to her because she was doing everything by herself so well.

"You dyed your hair black again." Owen comments.

"Uh huh, my rebellious time is over. I'm steady now." She sincerely smiles.

"Do you know your mom tattooed her last name and mine on her right chest?" Owen chuckles.

"Did she? Oh my God, Mom was serious when she thought my tattoo was rather sexy." Faith laughs out loud.

"Uh huh. She really amazed me. Anyway, Theo and Teddy still don't know about it. I don't want your mom to set a bad example for them, tattooing the name of her lover on her chest." Owen laughs and shakes his head.

The rain eventually stops and the sky becomes brighter. Owen gazes at the view outside the window while Faith focuses her attention back to the book. There is a comfortable silence in between the father and the daughter. Then Owen speaks up.

"You know you can read the book out loud for me. I can tell what you are studying."

"You really want that? You should take a little time off medicine. This is funny, Dad. You lying here reminds me of the time I was sick and I glued myself to the hospital bed. You would sit at the chair I'm sitting and read books for me." She gently smiles.

"And you asked for Robinson Crusoe, then Tom Sawyer, then Little House on the Prairie. I was so fed up with reading books for you, but you never got bored; so when Cristina came and offered to tell you stories, I was really relieved." Owen laughs out loud.

"You were always patient, Dad. You were always there for me." She looks at him and her eyes become teary.

"Hey, shhh, don't cry. We are having a good moment here." Owen's hand reaches for Faith's hand and he gently squeezes it.

"You know, I was in pain and I was exhausted. I wasn't sound and lucid. But you planted in me hope Dad. Hope that I will be strong and healthy again. And as a six year old girl, I held on to that. You planted in me the thought that good things will always happen to me and I believed in you."

Owen quietly nods.

"I'm not gonna lecture you, Dad. But I need you to keep up your hope and fight. You and I both know this is just the beginning, and it's important that you stay positive. At least, you should have faith. You named me Faith, you should have Faith." She gives Owen a stern look.

"Yes, ma'am. I can't spare a negative thought because all day I've been listening to hope and fighting from your mother, Teddy and you." Owen shakes his head.

"Alright then." Faith sheepishly smiles.

"Have you chosen your specialty?" Owen asks her.

"Not until next year. But as long as I'm in top ten percent, I can choose surgery. I want to be a surgeon." She proudly answers him.

"I'm glad you're doing great at school. You never made us worry about you, Faith. Keep up the good work and one day you can create a legendary like your mom."

Faith pauses for a little while, then she tilts her head closer to Owen's bed and smiles.

"Mom is a legend in everyone's eyes, but you are the legend in my eyes, Dad. You're a chief of surgery, chief of trauma, an amazing husband and amazing father. You never let me skip my piano classes, you made us dinner whenever you could, you took care of Theo when he was troublesome, you read bedtime stories to Teddy."

Owen blushes. "Okay, I'm not dying today so you don't need to honor all the things I did for you all now." He smiles.

"Oh, I'm having a good moment with you, as you said." She smiles. "I can't live up to today if you didn't adopt me, and tried to fix my heart. And you took me back on a medical trip to Korea to find my real parents when I was eighteen. That means a lot to me. I'm mature and different because you raised me differently."

"That was an awesome trip." Owen notes.

"Indeed. It's the one of a kind mission trip that I can brag to my friends, and they are jealous of me." She chuckles.

"Sweetie, you're being emotional now. I would love to hug you but I am kinda weak to handle another Teddy now. I need a cool and calm daughter." He rubs her head.

"Fine. Just saying." Faith rolls her eyes.

"Don't worry, I feel very good now. I'm even thinking about what I want to do when I'm under radiation treatment. I can't stay at home doing nothing. There are many things I want to do but haven't got a chance." Owen stares absentmindedly at the ceiling, thinking about the plans that he wanted to do.

"Like what?"

"I will do a research. I had a research topic in mind years ago but never got time to sit down and work on it. It will be a very interesting research." Owen chuckles.

"It will be a groundbreaking research." She grins.

"Yeah, maybe it's time I let Cristina Yang know that Owen Hunt can be a bigger legend than her." Looking at his daughter, Owen smiles mischievously.

* * *

_**Since this chapter involves Faith, you can check out her bedroom under the tag #gaucung89 in tumblr._


	19. Radioactive

_**Hello, my dear readers. I must say I was so happy today because I slept and seven hours later when I woke up, I had 12 reviews. 12 amazing reviews. I'm glad you enjoy my fanfic and I hope the rest of the story will continue to amaze you._

_As I read the reviews, I realize some of my readers love Teddy more and more. Some start to lose interest in her, however, because she acted crazily regarding her father's sickness. Same thing happens to Cristina: some readers say she's a great mother who takes care of her children in a unique way, others comment she's too tough on her children. I'm glad there are conflicting opinions, because I love to create characters that are "real" rather than "angelic". I believe everyone has both good sides and bad sides, and it's my intention to show the true personalities of the character. Given Teddy's characteristic, her behavior regarding Owen's cancer is totally understandable._

_To Beth: I'm very happy that my readers give me thoughtful reviews. They tell me the parts that they like and hate, rather than "continue, please or keep update!" , which tell me they enjoy my story as much as I do. So, I welcome your constructive reviews. Please don't hesitate to give me feedback. Just for your record and other readers' record, I already finished writing this fanfic a week ago. I don't write a new chapter after reading the reviews and adjust my story line to get your interest or empathy. Because readers' reviews mean a lot to me and probably affect my feeling in a certain way, I tried to finish it without reading them so that the story stays true and unbiased. _

_About today's chapter, it will be a tough and dry read to some of you. I decided to write it, however, because this fanfic primarily focuses on Owen's point of view. (That's why for a moment I want to name it Owen's Anatomy). My previous fanfic was primarily based on Cristina's point of view, if you paid close attention. The chapter focuses on Owen's first six days of radiation treatment. It is partially based on my experience with a person who had radiation treatment before, however it is a little bit dramatized for the sake of fanfiction._

_Last but not least, please enjoy this chapter._

* * *

**RADIOACTIVE**

**I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones  
Enough to make my systems blow  
Welcome to the new age, to the new age  
Welcome to the new age, to the new age**

**oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive**

DAY 1

"…and then white captures the black pawn at f5 by attacking on the diagonal." Theo voice echoes from the living room.

"Next?" Owen asks his son.

"Black moves their knight pawn 2 spaces to g5. It's now right next to the white pawn."

"Ding dong." It's the sound of the doorbell.

"Teddy, Teddy, can you open the door please?" Owen yells out loud, his eyebrows furrow because of the distraction.

Teddy runs downstairs. She looks over her shoulder and angrily complains. "Oh come on, why can't Theo open the door? He's in the living room with you."

"I said please! We are concentrating here." Owen shifts his sight back to the chessboard. He is sweating because of the tricky move that his son showed him.

Teddy opens the door and two service men from BestBuy carry heavy boxes inside. Owen stands up from the couch, hands rubbing in excitement. "Yes, my toy has arrived." He instructs the men to enter his bedroom and install the _new toy_.

Cristina arrives home soon after and grimaces as she realizes the strangers' appearance in her bedroom. She looks at Theo playing chess game with his father and complains: "What time is your flight? Why are you still here?"

"I want to check out Dad's _new toy _before I leave." Theo beams at his mother.

"What is it, Owen?"

"It's a Dolby Atmos surround sound system. I'm gonna stuck in my bedroom for twelve days so I need a system that meets all my requests." Owen's eyes winkle as he smiles.

"You really enjoy this radiation treatment, don't you?" She snorts at him.

"Uh huh. I make the most out of the situation. Come here and give me a kiss. We're not gonna see each other for the next twelve days." He pulls Cristina down and kisses her.

They have a decent lunch together then the doorbell rings again. Owen takes a deep breath. Teddy and Cristina puts the dishes into the dishwasher, then they all hug him.

"Just relax and enjoy, okay? We are out here for you." Cristina kisses his cheek.

"Let me know if you need anything, Dad." Teddy hugs him.

"I'll try to come home after you finish your radiation dose, Dad." Theo hugs Owen.

"Alright, guys, I will be fine. Now go upstairs."

Cristina, Teddy and Theo run upstairs then Owen opens the door. A physician wearing protective gears enters the house with a cooler.

"Dr. Hunt? My name is Kelly Gerund and I'm the physical assistant from Dr. Winston office."

"Nice to meet you. This way." Owen escorts the physical assistant into his bedroom. She places the cooler on a table and takes out a piece of paper.

"Dr. Hunt, I would like to go through these guidelines with you before you take the pill."

"Please proceed." Owen takes a deep breathe.

"The radioactive ingredient from the pill will be taken up by the cancerous cell from your body and hence be destroyed. Now, before you take the pill, you will take this blue pill that prevents nausea that may result from the treatment." She puts down a little plastic box with a big number 1 that has a blue pill inside.

Next, you take the radioactive medication inside this cooler. We already mark number 2 for you."

Owen nods.

"If you experience dry mouth after fifteen minutes or so, start taking these sour candies. It helps feeling better." Kelly places a box with number 3 on the table.

"Drink plenty of water throughout your 12 day course of treatment, so any excessive radioactive drug can be removed by urinary system. Also, please flush your toilet twice after use to erase any trace of radiation."

"Okay." Owen nods his head.

"Now, dry mouth, nausea, pain, lack of appetite and change in taste buds are frequent side effects of radiation therapy. I hope you are prepared for this. Last but not least, the most important reminder is to be isolated in this room for 12 days and have no close contact with your family members. This is for their safety."

"I understand, Kelly."

"Great, Dr. Hunt. Please sign here and I will see you in Dr. Winston's office in twelve days."

Owen closes the door and exhales. Even he knows that the radioactive pill is for his health's sake, he feels as if he is taking a mercy killing pill that is prescribed from a physician.

The Skype application from Owen's table starts to ring, so he picks up the call. Cristina requests to see his video and Owen chuckles. They never talk to each other on their tablets before.

"Owen, show me around." Owen can see Cristina, Theo and Teddy faces in the living room.

Owen points the camera to the cooler that has a huge chemical hazard label on it. His wife and his children drop their mouths to see him remove a tiny tray in which a tiny capsule lies neatly.

"That's it?" Teddy asks naively.

"It's a toxic, Teddy." Owen shakes his head.

He sits down with a bottle of water and starts by swallowing the nausea capsule, followed by the radioactive capsule.

"How do you feel?" Cristina gives him a concerning look through the camera.

"Fine." Owen grins at them. He walks around the room and turns on the surround sound system, showing Theo how awesome it is.

Not long after the cheerful talking and walking that Owen starts to feel tired. He looks at the clock, which indicates a time elapsed of twenty minutes since he swallowed the radioactive capsule. Owen fakes a smile so Cristina and his children don't have to worry about him. "All right, it's time I watch some movies. Bye!"

"Bye Dad. Call me if you need anything. I will place the dinner tray for you at the door at 6.00 p.m." Teddy says goodbye to him with tears in her eyes. Owen's heart is softened to see her sniffing. "I will. Thank you, sweetie."

As soon as he turns off the Skype camera, Owen lies down on his bed and takes some deep breaths. He can really feel the difference now as the capsule dissolves inside his gut. His mouth starts to feel dry and chapped, so he takes some sour candies as instructed and applies Vaseline on his thin lips.

The fatigue feeling begins to overwhelm his body so he turns on the TV and watch a random show absentmindedly until he falls asleep. Until late in the afternoon, his phone rings again, and Teddy tells him to pick up the dinner tray at the door while she is away upstairs.

Owen walks to the front door and picks up the tray at his feet. He overlooks to the kitchen and the living room, which are completely quiet, and sighs. It's the first time in his life that he understands what freedom means. Suddenly, he realizes that he has exposed himself too much to the living area, so he abruptly closes the door. Owen looks at the tray of delicious pasta, chicken soup and slices of tomatoes that Teddy made for him and smiles. His daughter always makes everyone eat raw tomatoes because she argues tomatoes bring plenty nutritious benefits.

Yet, despite his expectation, the food tastes like cold metal in his mouth. Owen tries to finish half the portion then throw all the disposable plates along with remaining food in the trash.

DAY 2

Owen wakes up as the sun rays shine straight to his face. He tosses and turns around a few times and looks at the clock, it's 8:00 a.m. It is very unlikely of him to wake up this late, yet the radiation dose really knocked him out yesterday. He sits up, stresses out and realizes he's weaker than normal. The tired feeling reminds him of his childhood, when the little boy Owen Hunt running around his parents and sniveling after taking a vaccine dose.

"Where's your mom?" Owen calls Teddy.

"She left for work. What do you want to eat today, Dad? Was the food good yesterday?" Teddy beams at him.

Owen reluctantly smiles and nods, hiding her from the fact that his taste buds have changed and it tastes like crap. He drinks plenty of water and urinates a lot to flux out the unnecessary radiation in his body.

Owen switches the TV channels until he catches a documentary show about the daily life of US Army Soldiers in Germany base. His mind wanders to the view of Teddy Altman and him playing soccer against Dan, his superior. He can still recall vividly how he fought hard for Dan to control his bleeding, and as soon as Dan took his last breathe, the helicopter came and rescued them. That was one of the saddest memories in Owen's life and he learned a hard lesson from it, the lesson to never give up hope and never stop fighting.

It is easier said than done, isn't it? Dan was in so much pain that he requested Owen to remove his hand from the wound. Owen can somehow relate himself to Dan in that situation: he is feeling slowly dying. The radiation drains the energy and spirit out of him. Hadn't Cristina and his children kept telling him to fight date and night, he might, for a moment, have thought about refusing a radiation therapy. Yes, it is shameful to acknowledge that he is a soldier and for the first time in his life, he wants to surrender.

The documentary show about army is really good but it brings back negative feelings for him, so he switches the channel.

There's a phone ringing and Owen picks it up happily.

"Hello, Dr. Bailey?"

"Dr. Hunt, how has the radiation treatment treated you?"

"More than I can ever wish for. I'm pretty much glued to my bed now." Owen chuckles.

"Good. I have some questions to ask you about the budget for Peds ward last quarter. Will you be able to open your email?"

"Of course."

Owen weakly walks to the desk and turns on his laptop to open the file attachment. He explains to Dr. Miranda Bailey about the budget that she concerns, and they had a great time discussing the budgets of the hospital. Owen thinks to himself if he was the president of the hospital, he would love to appoint her to be the vice president. Dr. Bailey is one of the most trustworthy physicians in his point of view.

"Dr. Bailey, can you send me something to consult? I'm really bored here." Owen sheepishly confesses as they finish their conversation about budgeting.

"You want patients' cases? Fine, I will boss around my inferiors to have them send you one case per day. That's like a healthy daily vitamin dose for you." Miranda Bailey laughs out loud.

"Thank you, Dr. Bailey. I look forward to it." Owen smiles and says goodbye to her.

Having focused on the work for almost two hours, his temperature drops and as he feels cold, his hands start to hurt. Owen calls Teddy and asks her to increase the room temperature.

"Are you okay, Dad? You're feeling cold?" She sounds worried.

"Yeah, but I'm fine, Teddy. It's just a little cold." He shrugs.

"The fact that I don't follow medicine doesn't mean that I don't understand what you are going through. Everyone is busy and I'm here to help you, physically and mentally. You should share with me your feelings if it makes you feel better. Remember I'm the cheerful one in the house." She scolds at her father.

"I know, sweetie. My hands hurt a little due to the cold, that's why. But now I feel better." He smiles so that Teddy can have a peace of mind.

Owen feels bored to the core for the remaining of the day. He was so used to working nonstop under time and precision pressure, so having nothing to do other than pacing around the room and lying on the bed is a torture to him. He looks forward to the lunch and dinner because Teddy bought wonton soup for him. It is his favorite dish other than chicken soup that he loves to have when he's sick.

Yet, once more, to Owen's disappointment, the soup tastes bitter and horrible. It makes him throw up.

Owen manages to finish the wonton soup in the morning but when he receives the same food in the evening, he closes his eyes and tries to swallow one third of the soup then dumps the rest in the toilet. _There is no sink in the bedroom_, Owen groans as he empties the food.

DAY 3

Owen opens his eyes and sighs. He is not sure whether the drug or the lack of activity in twelve days mentally breaks him down. It's not that he is too lazy to do anything, it's that he tried anything he could come up with and nothing can attract his interest for more than three hours that bothers him.

He rolls on the curtain in the room and goes brushing his teeth. Looking at the horrible reflection of himself in the mirror: wrinkled eyes with dark circles, dry skin, chapped lips and bushy beard, Owen shakes his head in disbelief. He was well aware that radiation leaves much severe side effects compared to chemotherapy, yet he is still in denial about how devastating the treatment is to his body and spirit.

Owen slowly shaves his beard and composes a better image of himself. He Skype calls but only Teddy answers him.

"Ma came home late last night and left very early in the morning. The bidding is in two days, Dad. You should get her." Teddy explains to him.

Faith calls Owen at noon when she's having lunch in Stanford cafeteria. He is glad to talk to his oldest daughter and happy that she shows the camera around the student building for him. Owen looks at Faith, now with a white coat outside her casual clothing, and feels an immense pride. She explains to Owen the stage of the cardiac sarcoma research with enthusiasm, and he feels happy to be able to talk about medicine again.

When she is alone, Faith asks Owen.

"Dad, are you feeling okay? I guess the radiation drug knocks you out. You look very thin and wiped out."

"It does, indeed. But I just ate my lunch and it feels better." Owen tries to reassures her. Never does he know the leftover rice and salmon on the table is the evidence against his statement.

"No. You don't finish your food, Dad. I know you have a change in taste bud, but if you don't eat for your own sake then the whole radiation treatment is a complete waste." Faith shakes her head firmly and gives Owen a stern look.

As long as he ends the call, Owen knows the storm is about to happen.

And he is right. Right before dinner when Cristina comes home, she turns on the camera and together with Teddy, they start to scold at him.

"Owen, you threw food away during the last three days, didn't you?" Cristina squints her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cristina. The food tastes terrible but I try to eat anyway, but I usually end up throwing up." Owen sighs as he lies desperately on the bed.

Teddy is quiet during the whole Skype session. He feels guilty for making his daughter sad because she tried everything to comfort him.

"I'm sorry, Teddy. I don't mean you cook terribly. It's because the drug made me feel terrible."

"Are you sure the radiation drug is helping, Dad? You just look more worn out each day." She honestly asks him. Cristina turns around to look at Teddy and grimaces.

"Nonsense, the side effects are the norm. Owen, you need to eat for your health. Your body is worn out and it needs to be replenished with nutrition. This is when the battle actually occurs and I want you to fight. I have many problems out here, Owen. Please don't make me worry about you." Cristina talks to him coldly but caringly.

Owen waits until Teddy walks away then he whispers to the tablet: "I feel like I'm dying in here, honey."

…..

DAY 4

One consult per day is indeed a relief for Owen. He looks forward to the 9 o'clock email, in which a doctor in the hospital sends him a case with relevant scans and labs so he can help diagnose.

It is really the most challenging yet interesting activity of the day in the last four days. Owen has been specialized into trauma surgery, so being able to view cases from Ob/Gyn, Neuro, Ortho and even Plastics refreshes his brain. It reinforces the fact that medicine is evolving constantly, and one needs to be updated with the latest knowledge as well as technology if one wants to stay in the game.

That said, today's Ortho case coming from Callie is a challenge to Owen. He does some researches on his laptop, but only minimal and shallow answers can be found by the public websites. Discontent, Owen calls Teddy.

"Sweetie? I need you to go to the library and fetch me the classic Gray's Anatomy book along with the Ortho book in green cover, I forgot the name."

Teddy leaves the two books on the floor for Owen and runs upstairs as he opens the door. He smiles as he holds the old Gray's Anatomy book in his hand. Even though he was not taught anatomy in medical school from this classic book, Owen almost knew the chapters by heart. He gently flips over the hard cover to see the punctual and neat handwriting in faded ink:

_For my son: you have to fight some bad days to earn the best days of your life._

The book was a gift to Owen from his father, William Hunt, on the day he got accepted to Harvard Medical School.

Owen recalls the summer gap in between graduating college and preparing to enter medical school. He spent his days at home in Seattle reading the book with great enthusiasm. He was determined to be in top five percent of his class, so he read the book back and forth, in hope that it would bring him a fresh start ahead other medical students.

Owen had a plan to give the book to Theo when his son is accepted to a medical school. Even though he never pushes the children to follow Cristina and his pathway, Owen is glad that the legendary is passed onto the next generation. It will be a great present between fathers and sons.

He opens the book and flips quickly to the skeletal system chapter and shifts his mind back to the Ortho case that Callie sent him.

Eating meals turn out to be the most fearful thing in a day of a cancer patient like Owen. He tries desperately to finish the meal as he promised to Cristina and Teddy, yet normally he throws up half the food ingested soon after. It is quite rare for any man to experience too many vomiting in a lifetime; and now Owen is having nausea twice a day for the last four days. How irony. Owen tries not to take the nausea pills if he can control the nausea because as a doctor, he knows any drug has its negative side effect. The waves of exhaustion visit him several times during the day, and he rests in bed when they occurs. Owen closes his eyes and shifts his mind towards the sentence that his father wrote: You have to fight some bad days to earn the best days of your life.

It is late in the evening and Owen was reading a random book in his room when he heard Cristina's voice outside. He looks up on the clock and see it's 11:00 p.m. Owen waits an hour or so for his wife to have dinner and takes a shower, then he Skype calls her.

"Hey honey." Owen smiles as he sees his wife in Faith's room.

"How are you, feeling better?" Cristina asks him as she dries her hair by the towel.

"Uh huh." Owen gently nods.

Cristina looks at the screen and sees the pale, tired face of her beloved husband. She sighs.

"You look so pale, Owen. I wish I can do something for you. But I guess it's your own battle and you're the sole soldier. Anyway, things will get better if you get to day six or seven." She smiles at him, placing the tablet on the pillow.

"How is your work, Cristina?"

"The bidding is tomorrow night. Honestly I wouldn't have to attend the banquet at all had Burke been here. Burke is aggressive and I won't have to worry about losing the pharmaceutical company. Instead, I only have his assistant, who is not very experienced in bidding, so I will have to attend the banquet." She sighs.

"I understand." There's nothing much Owen can say other than supporting her.

"And I'm pretty sure I'll lose some friends in Grey Sloan after this bid. I understand buying this company is a commited step in your plan of expanding regionally, given you lost last time. I'm sorry." Cristina shakes her head.

"Do you have any spy in my hospital? How come you're so sure about our plans?" Owen grimaces.

"I'm Cristina Yang, baby. CRISTINA YANG." She beams at him.

Owen observes Faith's room carefully and sees no sign of Teddy, so he smiles wickedly. "Uh huh, I'm very proud to have the reputable Dr. Cristina Yang, cardiothoracic surgeon, also known as Director of Kraums Institute, to _spread her legs_ for me at night."

"Where did you learn to seduce verbally, Owen?" Cristina lies on the bed with her hair scattered on the sheet and smiles.

"I don't know. When it comes to you, my gentleman demeanor is shaken off. There is only the evil and wicked Owen talking to you now." He chuckles.

"Whatever, as long as the radiation is helping our sex lives, I'm all for it. I can still recall my husband three weeks ago, too tired to have intimacy with his wife." Cristina laughs.

"I'm still tired, and I probably don't have enough energy to spare to you, but I still have my drive, Cristina. I guess it's the time you grant my wish." He grins.

"How can we have sex now?" She furrows her eyebrows.

"You striptease through Skype will be a new thing we haven't tried before." Owen smirks.

"Ah…you are indeed dark and wicked. Anyway, I'd love to perform it tomorrow night for you, but not tonight, Owen. I'm really tired, and I have to be at Kraums early tomorrow to prepare my stuff." She exhales deeply.

"What a pity. But anyway, I will wait for tomorrow night's show."

"And, I'm taking Teddy to the banquet this time, Owen. I think it's good to let her exposed to the real business world, given that she likes business." She stares at the ceiling and murmurs.

"Sounds great. You are a great mother, Cristina. And a great wife. I'm glad I have you by my side in my sickness." Owen gently whispers before kissing her goodnight through the camera.

…..

DAY 5

Another morning has come and as usual, Owen wakes up with body ache, mouth sore and constipation. He stares at the ceiling, wonder how long more he has to fight before totally being defeated by the side effects of the cancer drug.

Feeling he has been mushy and whining enough, Owen stands up, takes out the yoga mat and lays it on the floor. He rolls on the curtain and sits down with his eyes closed, determined that he has to do something to regain his spirit and health. He can practice yoga and even do some meditation. Owen doesn't care if it's the Oriental approach, because a yoga mat is all he is equipped for now. He starts with the familiar poses that he had practiced before; and even though he can't exercise as long as he used to, he feels much better as the sweats start to shine on his body.

After the 9 o'clock dose of consulting case sent from Grey Sloan, Owen spontaneously surfs the New England Medical Journal website that was automatically signed in with Cristina's name. An ethic issue catches his attention with the topic: Delayed Splenic Rupture after Non-Operative Management of Blunt Splenic Injury. Owen reads through the article with great interest but soon he disagrees with some points made by the editor. He quickly scrolls down the comment box and types in a lengthy paragraph arguing against the editor based on his professional experience as a trauma surgeon in Iraq. After an hour of presenting his idea enthusiastically thru the comment box, he feels very satisfied with what he's done. Owen carries the food tray that Teddy prepared for him inside and eats lunch with content because he feels hungry. The food doesn't taste any better, but he doesn't pay much attention to it anymore.

Another wave of exhaustion comes over Owen and he takes a nap, knowing that he spent a useful morning doing some exercise for his body, mind and even his brain. Waking up from the nap, he excitedly turns on the laptop and check out the subsequent comments for the same article. Many army surgeons support his point of view and some other doctors thanks him for sharing the unique experiences that they, as surgeons in hospital setting, would never know. Feeling pleased with what he's reading, Owen continues to share more of his experience and point of views. He enjoys clicking the refresh button to see subsequent comments. It feels great to be able to talk and discuss with people in his status: army surgeons that return from Iraq and Afghanistan with memories, experiences and even war wounds. He quickly forms a circle of acquaintance with the people on the internet. For the first time in five days, Owen's head is occupied with something else other than his cancer. He even ignores the daily call from Cristina and Teddy because he's glued to the laptop discussing about his war time with fellow army soldiers.

DAY 6

Owen never feels more eager to wake up and have the rest of the day being alone to do the things he wants. After exercising, he takes a shower and rushes to the laptop to read the responses for his lengthy review he made last night.

_Oh my, 36 reviews overnight._ He feels excited that the review initially written for the sake of voicing his opinion turned into a heated debate. Owen reads each of the comment carefully, shakes or nods his head as he goes long the list.

An idea sparkles in his head as he reads one comment from an Afghanistan war veteran. Owen laughs out loud and hits the desk excitedly, knowing what he wants to do during the course of cancer treatment. He calls the United States of Army Institute of Surgical Research and explains to them his wish to be funded for a research that will potentially benefit PTSD patients. After half an hour or so, he is able to talk to Colonel Wirt, USAISR Commander.

"Your research sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, the application deadline for research funding for this year is within four days. If you still want your research to be considered, then please submit a twenty page of project summary along with research timeline. We will let you know if you are qualified for the fund within a few days of your submission." The secretary of Colonel Wirt explains to Owen.

Four days to submit the twenty page summary of the research. Owen exhales deeply. The good news is he is completely free in the next four days to focus on his research, the bad news is he has no information or resource whatsoever to start with other than internet. Owen spends the next two hours listing out all the books he will need from Grey Sloan library. When Teddy calls him this morning, he cheerfully tells her.

"Hey sweetie, I have something for you to do, I wonder if you can help me." Owen beams at his daughter.

"What's up, Dad?"

"I'll send you a list of books I need from Grey Sloan and you come to the hospital, asking Dr. Bailey to let you in and borrow the books for me."

"Fine, I'm studying for my CLEP test, but I'm being a supportive daughter here." Teddy purrs her lips.

"Thank you, sweetie. By the way the chicken tender today is good, I don't know if I'm slowly recovering or not."

"That's a good start, Dad. Anyway, I have some questions about Weak Acid Tiltration and since you were a Biochem student, you can help me out." Teddy smiles genuinely."

"Oh no, Teddy. I'm really busy." Owe grimaces.

"Dad! It will only take you an hour or so! And I don't believe you're busy. You keep complaining there's nothing to do in there other than watching TV and playing FIFA." Teddy raises her voice.

"Alright." Owen sighs.

Teddy starts to explain the questions from the workbook that she got stuck for Owen, but since his mind is already occupied with something else, Owen is not patient enough to hear her problems and explain to her. After half an hour of attempt, he sighs.

"Teddy, I'm sorry, but I don't remember much Biochem material. It's been decades. Why don't you take the test in Stanford then and have Faith help you out? She's a Biochem nerd, she surely can help you better than I do."

"Fine, Dad." Teddy shakes in disappointment.

Cristina comes home in the evening and Skype calls her husband. Owen is busy reading the relevant material from the books so he slightly feels annoyed to be called a few times. He picks up the call at the fourth time to her yelling:

"What are you doing? You haven't talked to me in two days!" She grimaces.

"Cristina, I'm sorry. I'm busy focusing on my career. Anyway, how was the bidding?" Owen smiles apologetically.

"Of course my company won. Teddy was excited to participate and she helped my assistant come up with the bidding price." Cristina smiles happily.

"That's good." He says as his eyes are glued to the screen.

"What is going on, Owen? Are you still eating well? Are you feeling tired? Do you have any pain? I mean, are you watching porn in there or masturbating? For you said you wanted to see me striptease and now I can't even talk to you." She groans as she closes the door behind her.

"I'm still fine. I'm just busy doing some research." Owen furrows his eyebrows.

"Well, okay, _I'm glad that you fine._ Now you are too busy to have a conversation with your wife." She snorts at him.

"Cristina, I'm doing well, thank you for worrying about me. Now would you please be so supportive as leave me alone to focus on my thing for the just one week? I have a deadline to race." He sighs.

"Fine. Take all the time you need." Cristina pouts. She glances at him then abruptly hangs on the call.

_Oh, my dear wife and children, please understand me as I am so excited about the fact that I can contribute something to the face of trauma medicine._ Owen sighs then walks back to his desks. He is completely absorbed to the research that he forgets everything around him, even the pain.

* * *

_**Don't worry, we don't have to go through the next six days like this. Things will be more interesting. Oh and I forgot to post Faith's room so I'm gonna do it today, please check it out._


	20. LUST

_**Let's take a break from Owen's sickness, my friends. Please enjoy the chapter and as always, I look forward to your feedback._

DAY 8

Teddy sits down on the carpet and leans on the wall. Her whole body is shaky due to being soaked in the rain. She tries to focus on the book on her lap anyway.

The door is suddenly slammed wide open and a bunch of various voices echo inside the apartment. Bailey staggers in the living room; he is cracking up as he leans on another guy for support. Bailey is drunk. Standing next to them is another young girl, hand holding a bottle of wine.

"You have a guest, Bailey." The guy friend murmurs to Bailey's ears, his head gesturing towards Teddy sitting against the wall.

Bailey blinks his eyes a few times; his pupils dilate so he can see the shadow of the person from afar.

"It's…Teddy, Faith's sister."

"Faith's sister? How come she has red hair? She's pretty." The guy transfers Bailey from his shoulder to the girl's shoulder. Bailey tries to stop him but he already rapidly approaches Teddy.

"Victor Vance. Nice to meet you, Teddy…Hunt." He grins at Teddy.

Surprised, Teddy stands up and shakes Victor's hand.

"Nice meeting you."

"You're completely wet." Victor rolls his eyes as he stares at the wet clothes clinging to her tiny body.

"So are you." Teddy sarcastically responds.

"Victor, Jillian, you'll have to go now…I'm gonna sleep now." Stuttering, Bailey tries to stand straight and opens the door for his friends. Jillian hugs Bailey once more, saying "Good night!" then follows Victor outside.

Bailey closes the door and leans on the wall opposite to where Teddy is standing now. He blinks his eyes, trying to stay awake. He's glad he just had three shots of vodka. He is still aware who he is and who is standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" He crosses his arms.

"Waiting for Faith, apparently." She looks away. "What happened to the couch?"

"It's too old so I donated it. I'm waiting for the new one to be delivered."

"You should go change. You're drunk and soaked in the rain. You'll easy catch a cold." She gives him a concerning look.

"You don't need to pretend that you care about me." Despite his consciousness, he feels his body flares up with heat.

"Whatever." Teddy shakes her head then sits down and stares at her book again.

"Faith locks her room again and you can't call her?" Bailey asks her.

"Yeah. But I'm fine." Teddy continues to speak in a monotonous tone as if she doesn't care less about her situation. The water from her hair drops on the book so she eventually closes it. She feels desperate about being soaked up and sitting here waiting for her sister, who may come back in no time.

"That's stupid. How long have you been sitting in the wet clothes? Go change them." Bailey gestures towards his room then staggers inside.

Teddy is offended that Bailey called her stupid, yet she stands up and follows him to the familiar tiny room.

"Stand there." He points at the empty space next to the bed.

Bailey turns on the yellow light. He slowly strolls into his closet and throws out some clothing to her.

"Put them on." He coldly demands.

"You'd better stop that bossy demeanor because I really feel offended here." She snorts at him.

"Oh, you feel offended? Why should I care about that when you never give a damn if I was hurt or even offended?" He sarcastically replies her with a smirk on his face.

"I don't need your clothes." She throws the clothing back to him.

"It's the shirt you puked on last time, dude. You can get out and change and wait in the living room because I also have to change my clothes now." Bailey starts to unbutton his shirt and throws it on the floor. Next he quickly strips down from his khakis, revealing the boxer.

"Oh please." Teddy grimaces and turns around.

"Stop acting like an angel. You are eighteen and probably had sex already. Don't fake a 't pretend that you're uncomfortable when you see a bare body." Bailey yells. He used to like her shyness when they have physical encounter but now he feels disgusted about it. He feels her fake. Completely fake.

"Uh huh, I had sex before, plenty hot sex with handsome guys who turn out to be doctors as well. Believe or not, my circle of acquaintance includes more doctors than you think, Bailey. It's YOU, only you that I feel embarrassed to look at, because your body is the worst I have ever seen and that petite thing seems helpless with its inborn mission." Feeling extremely hurt, she smirks and snorts back at Bailey. Her head gestures toward his reproductive organ.

Bailey rushes towards Teddy and gently pushes her to the wall. His hip pins her hip and he gasps at the proximity of their faces. His big hand gently squeezes her chin. He grinds his teeth: "Oh now you dare talk about my penis. I have alcohol in my body, Teddy. Utter one more word and you will regret what you said."

"So, this is you? You continuously try to hurt me back because I hurt you? Go ahead. Fuck me and show me how vulnerable you are." She smirks; her sharp eyes staring at Bailey.

"Teddy Yang Hunt. The one who gets control of everything. Let's see how experienced she is." Bailey smirks. He abruptly tears her shirt from the neck down and throws the pieces aside. The little breasts covered by a tiny red bra pop up and pound wildly. Teddy closes her eyes and bites her lips; she made a miscalculated move when she dared him go on and fuck her.

Bailey gently caresses her jaw line; then he runs his fingers slowly down to her neck. His hand gradually descends her chest and he gently brushes the fingers along her cleavage. Teddy trembles as Bailey's fingers playfully twirl around the areola outside the red bra. She can feel her nipple harden, and her face turns red. Bailey's lips form a half smile as he sees her reaction. He lustfully whispers "Do you like it?" then gently, he kisses her ear and licks the secret spot behind it. Teddy feels goose bumps all over her body. She never knew there's a place behind the ears that can turn she on like this. This is all new to her. And he's turning her into submission. And she gasps because she can't handle all of this.

"I'm not vulnerable, Teddy. I can fuck you if I want. I could fuck you a long time ago but I respect you. Unfortunately, you disrespect me. You don't deserve my love. And I don't even want to make love with you even if you beg for me. Now grab your clothes and get out."

Teddy stares at Bailey, her eyes are full of angst and sadness both at the same time. She puts on the shirt that Bailey washed for her, and slowly speaks up. "You can close the door. I will get out of your life." She puts the book inside her bag and walks out of the house. Bailey can hear the noise of the heavy rain before the sound of the door closing.

Now that Teddy is gone, Bailey doesn't know if he's feeling satisfied or sad. He knows it was wrong of him to hurt her verbally, yet he enjoyed doing it because he was deeply hurt by her rejection over and over. It was hard, but when he decided to move on, she appears in front of his eyes again. He really needs to work things out because he can't avoid her forever, she is his close friend's little sister.

Bailey's phone rings. A strange number appears on the screen. "Hello?"

"Hello Bailey, it's Owen. I tried to call Faith and Teddy but they don't pick up the phone. Has Teddy arrived at your place?"

"No." Bailey stutters.

"Okay then. Just please let her stay overnight, she's going to have her first CLEP Chemistry exam tomorrow morning at Stanford."

"Why does she take the test here?" He furrows his eyebrows.

"She needs Faith to tutor her some Chemistry. Teddy had a few questions but I was stuck inside my room and I couldn't explain to her well through the phone, so she was miserable. And I was really exhausted, so we argued; pretty much she had rough days staying at home with me recently." Owen sighs on the phone.

"It's understandable, Uncle Owen. You have a high dose of radioactive drug in your body. You are having a really tough time. I will wait for Teddy and take care of her if Faith is not home tonight."

"Thanks, Bailey. You're a good guy."

Bailey rapidly opens the apartment door and looks outside. The rain is pouring heavily and he can't see any sign of Teddy. He regrets what he's just done to her now.

DAY 9

Teddy goes through all of her answer choices once more then submits the scantron to a CLEP officer. As she stands waiting for the result letter, she hits her forehead occasionally and massages her eyelids. Her head wants to explode after a long and exhaustive exam of 150 questions. If any other test taker wants to compare the answer with Teddy now, she would honestly responds that her mind is blank. Completely blank.

The officer hands Teddy an envelope and she slowly strolls out of the Undergraduate Student Assessment building of Stanford. The golden sun makes her eyes squinting; and since she is not used to pulling an allnighter, her eyes are red, swollen, aching and extremely sensitive to daylight. Teddy sighs, now she has to get back to the hotel and have a deep sleep.

"Teddy."

Teddy looks over her shoulder and sees a tall, robust shape leaning on the wall. It's Bailey. Oh my god, she can't have another argument with him again, especially now when she has a severe headache and exhaustion.

"I can't get out of your life if you keep getting into my life, Bailey." She murmurs.

"Then don't try to get out of my life anymore. I've been waiting for three hours, Teddy. I didn't know you take CLEP Chem today. How was it?" He sheepishly smiles as if there was no war between them last night.

"I don't know. You tell me." Teddy leans on the wall next to Bailey and hands him the envelope. He opens it, blinks his eyes a few times then speaks up.

"You've got 93%."

"That's it?" She sighs, fingers still massaging the closed eyelids.

"What's the passing score?" Bailey asks her.

"75%." Teddy murmurs.

"So then you did a great job! I heard you got trouble with some chem topics but it seems you aced the test." He grins.

"Yeah, had Faith tutored me the Weak Acid Tiltration I would have got 100% already. I studied for a week and I pulled an allnighter last night."

"Wow, you really are a perfectionist, aren't you?" He purrs his lips.

"Hey, I pursue Finance doesn't mean I suck at Chemistry or Physics. I'm daughter of Cristina Yang, for your record, the woman who operated on your father's heart with a gun threatened to her head." She answers weakly but maintained her sarcasm.

"I know. I'm not gonna argue with you anymore. Now let's go back to the apartment. You look sick. Did you get soaked again in the dry shirt I gave you?" Bailey glances at the shirt Teddy's wearing. He pulls Teddy's hand and walks her towards his bicycle. Teddy is too weak and hazy to resist Bailey. She tenderly follows him and sits on the back of the bike.

Bailey leads Teddy to his room and she completely forgets her pride or dignity. Her headache tells her to throw herself on to his bed, tuck in his blanket and close her eyes. Bailey chuckles. He brings her a Tylenol pill and a glass of water. Teddy forces herself to sit up and take the pill; then she lies down immediately and falls into a peaceful sleep. It doesn't matter to her that it's 1:00 p.m of the day.

When she blinks her eyes and gradually wakes up, it's already late in the afternoon. Teddy stares at the yellow light of the ceiling, feeling warm and refreshed as she snuggles inside the familiar blanket that has a clean cotton smell. She continues to lie still on Theo's bed for a while, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere in his tiny room. She glances at his broad back and comes to love the scene of Bailey studying in his desk. Fluffiness flutters in her chest and for the first time, she feels that she should not be a hot headed and impetuous girl. For the first time she regrets her decision. Oh my god, Bailey is changing her. His calm and serene personalities (except last night when he was under alcohol influence) are taming her wild and ferocious heart.

Bailey occasionally looks at Teddy over his shoulder in between the PowerPoint slides. Is he really weak and vulnerable, because the pleasure of watching her sleeping peacefully conquers the pain of being rejected by her every time they have a conversation? He doesn't have an answer; he is totally confused. All he knows for now is they deserve a chance to be together, because they constantly hurt each other, then within twenty four hours, they reconcile and be attracted to each other like magnet and steel.

Bailey spins his chair to look at Teddy again and sees her sheepishly smiling as their eyes meet.

"You woke up!" He excitedly exclaims. "Are you cold?" His eyebrows furrow at the scene of Teddy hiding inside the blanket and only revealing her face.

"No, it's my habit to completely cover my body in the blanket. It makes me feel warm." She gently smiles. "Plus, this blanket smells so good." She chuckles.

"Thank you, I do like the smell of fresh cotton." He nods.

Teddy insists on lying on Bailey's bed and he insists on sitting at the desk, observing her. They look at each other for a while and smile sheepishly like two teenagers. At an eight feet distance, their chests flutter with happiness as they feel each other's embrace even without holding hands.

"No matter how hard you hurt me, I can't hate you for too long." He shakes his head then looks down and sighs.

"You hurt me verbally deeply and I can't hate you for too long, either." She murmurs.

"….but you don't love me." Now they're back to the same issue.

"I do." She quietly answers.

"Then why did you want to break up with me?" He lifts his head up to look straight into her eyes yearningly.

"Because I took so much of your time and I don't want you to be involved in my family issues." She looks somber.

"You don't have to worry about my study. You need to believe that I am an efficient individual, as much as I believe you are an excellent student." He raises his eyebrows.

"Okay." Teddy can be very quiet like her mother when it comes to sensitive issues.

Bailey just stares at Teddy with great affection. Oh how come this little girl takes his heart away so easily. He chuckles. "Do you want to sit up and go have dinner with me? It's 6:30 p.m"

"No, I'm lazy, I just want to lay here. Plus your bed is so tempting." She grins.

"Then you can enjoy laying there. I'm back to my study." He smiles and turns around.

Teddy watches Bailey's back for a little more then she sits up and walks to him. She wraps her small arms around his large back from behind out of the sudden. She places her head against his back.

Bailey shudders for a second to realize what's going on. He sits still to feel the warmth radiating from Teddy's body. He is turned on simply by her hug, yet he gently removes her hand from his chest and spins the chair around, facing Teddy: "Aren't you afraid I will be out of control like last night?"

"Apparently, you were completely in control of your behavior last night." She rolls her eyes.

"There was a thin line and I almost crossed the line. And you are not ready for this." He shakes his head, thinking about how he sexually teased her.

"What if I am?" Her face doesn't reflect any feeling.

"Look, we shouldn't revisit what happened last night. I was drunk and I was hurt, and you were cold and stubborn. But now if we're good, we need to…."

Teddy pulls off her t-shirt and Bailey shuts up as the red bra pops out. He stares at the little breasts pounding rhythmically.

"Teddy… what are you doing?" He stutters.

"What do you think I'm doing?" She smiles.

Bailey exhales deeply. He pulls of his t-shirt abruptly, then stands up and carries her to bed. He lies on top of her and showers her with kisses on her lips and her cheeks. Then he moves his lips to her neck and her pounding chest.

"Ahh…" Bailey can hear Teddy's gentle gasping. He licks her ear again, which gives her goose bumps, and whispers: "You turn me on, Teddy. What should I do?"

She says nothing but runs her fingers through his soft hair. He buries his face into her small breasts that lie under the red bra and inhales the scent of the virgin. Next, he lowers his face to kiss her smooth and flat abdomen, his long arms reaching out and holding on to her delicate shoulders.

Out of the sudden, Bailey sits up straight and yells out loud against his will: "No, I can't." He removes himself from Teddy and throws his body next to where she's lying. Bailey turns away from her and pants heavily. He realizes It was him teasing her last night that made the virgin both vulnerable and turned on. He induced Teddy the idea of making love, and she is probably trying to prove him her love by giving him what he wanted.

"What's wrong?" Teddy asks as she's totally confused with his behavior.

"I don't want to do this with you now." He answers in between his gasps.

"Okay then." Teddy gently hugs Bailey from behind. He can feel the little bra touching his bare back. As he collects his calmness, Bailey turns around, arms open wide and pulls Teddy to his embrace.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to do this to you. You need to slow down, Teddy. Slow everything down. I don't want to break your hymen and then the next day you leave me again." He murmurs.

"I won't break up with you again, Bailey. At least, I won't break up with you out of the blue without giving you advanced notice." She genuinely answers.

Bailey chuckles at Teddy's honest words. Still having her close to his body, he gently strokes her hair.

"I love you very much. Will you let me in and be with your through your good and bad times?" He asks.

"I will. I love you, too. Sorry I was so ferocious." She purrs her lips and snivels like a little girl. Bailey feels happy for it is the first time he hears the three words "I love you" from Teddy.

Bailey leans closer and kisses Teddy's forehead. She closes her eyes and enjoys the smell from his body. He chuckles: "Have you ever been close to a man like this before?"

"Nope." She shakes her head.

"How dare you say you had plenty of sex! Look at you all scared and nervous when I teased you." Bailey laughs out loud.

"How do you know what to do and when to do which?" She bites her lips.

"I…just know…." Bailey shakes his head and smiles sheepishly.

"What do you like about me?" she opens her eyes wide.

"You are a cutie pie." Bailey giggles.

" More specific, please?"

"Well, you have a cute nose." He gently caresses her nose as he speaks.

"Next?"

"You have cute thin lips like your father. I can't take my eyes off you when you smile." He plants a kiss on her lips.

"That's what all men say. That's what my dad said to my mom all the time." She shakes her head and laughs.

"Okay, how about you have cute little chest that contains a big heart?" He smiles playfully.

"Are you complimenting the big heart or criticizing the small breasts?" She purrs her lips.

"Complimenting the big heart and complimenting the small breasts. They are cute." He grins.

"I thought men like C cups."

"Men like what their women have." He explains to her.

"What else?"

"Plenty. You sing beautifully. I was drawn to you when I heard you sing with your dad. And you eat popcorn like an elephant. And you cook. And you play stock."

"Pretty much everything." She comments.

"Uh huh." He agrees.

"Still, anything else?"

"Well, you have a scar running from your chest to your tummy. I was impressed by that. May I ask what happened?" He gently strokes the skin on Teddy's abdomen.

"It was a burn accident, culprit was Theo. Anyway, I don't want to talk about it. I could never wear bikini because of it." She murmurs.

"Oh, wear one piece then." He suggests.

"Whatever, I don't really care about it. No one is perfect." She sarcastically answers.

"Uh huh, you have flaws and you accept your flaws. That's why I love you." He wraps his hand around her and caresses her smooth bare back.

"The world used to revolve around me, Bailey. But you gradually change me. You calm me down and make me think carefully. I assume it's good for me." She smiles.

"Good. You have a pure and golden heart, that's what makes you beautiful. Now, remember you still owe me a favor? I need you to promise me something." He stares at her with a serious countenance.

"What is it?"

"Promise me you will go back to school next semester and finish your Bachelor Degree in Summa Cum Laude by all means."

"You're afraid I will drop out of school? Haha, you're like my parents, Bailey. Anyway, I promise you. Don't worried I'm already bored to death staying at home. I just don't regret because I do it for dad but anyway, I'm trying to study for the CLEPS and whatever I can think of. I was born in a family of doctors, Bailey. I know the drill to the success."

"Good girl. Just not gone bad." He smiles and kisses her.

They just lay there and enjoy each other's presence in a comfortable silence. Bailey gently caresses Teddy's nose, thinking about how he ended up loving the girl that he enjoyed teasing and fighting since he'd known of her existence.

"What are you smiling about?" Teddy speaks up.

"I remember your mother Cristina let me hold you the first time a few days after you were born. You were very tiny but you cried so loud that you made me hate babies." He beams at her.

"So I held a grudge against you since I was a few days old." She laughs out loud.

"No. You cried because you were hungry. Your mom had to take you away and feed you so that you'd stop crying." He rolls his eyes. "You eat like an elephant since you were a few days old."

"Speaking of eating, I'm hungry now." She purses her lips.

"Right, why don't we spend the rest of the night as a date? I have never really taken you on a date." His eyes sparkle as he comes up with the idea.

"I waste your night again." She sighs.

"I said don't worry about me. I will only go with you when I can handle my study."

"Okay then. Well I am wearing the same old damp shirt and jeans since yesterday."

"We can go to Stanford Shopping Center. I bet you're never there. And I can buy you a dress." He smiles.

"It must be proportionate to $54,000 balance in your account." She laughs out loud.

"You are really daughter of Cristina Yang and Owen Hunt, aren't you? Let's go." He pulls her out of bed. Bailey puts on a nice blue shirt and dark grey ants. He wraps his arms around her and they walk out the apartment.

Bailey takes Teddy to the mall and she quickly enters Kate Spade shop. She looks around swiftly then picks out a white silk midi dress with a black bow around the waist. "Here." He gives it to the receptionist and drops his jaw to see the charge on the card: $450.00.

"Wow."

"It's an elegant dress." The receptionist smiles at Bailey.

"Indeed." He nods and glances at Teddy, who is smiling at him mischievously.

Teddy quickly changes into the new dress and walks out to Bailey's surprise. She looks indeed elegant and pretty like a duchess. She smiles at him. "I need matching shoes. I can't wear sneaker."

"Shoes, it is."

Teddy visits Nordstrom and picks out matching black, shiny Michael Kors low heels. She walks over the cashier but Bailey interrupts her. "I can handle this."

"You paid for my dress. I will pay for my shoes." She beams at him.

"It's okay. Let me treat you like a duchess for once." He kindly offers Teddy.

"There you go." Teddy hands over the heels for him and he waits anxiously for the balance to come up. $295.00. Bailey laughs in surprise. He never knows having a girl friend is costing and consuming this much.

As they walk out Nordstrom, Bailey holds her hand and leads her to a small flower boutique. He walks inside and comes out in ten minutes with a bouquet of red flowers.

"Thank you. That's very nice of you." She cheerfully receives the flower from him.

"I am dating daughter of Dr. Owen Hunt. I know the drill." He laughs.

Bailey takes Teddy to a nice upscale Spanish restaurant in Palo Alto neighborhood. She looks at the excessive menu of tapas and purrs her lips: "Can I eat like an elephant?"

"Absolutely." He laughs out loud.

Teddy reads back and forth the menu then decides to let Bailey order. He orders a few popular tapas and a small portion of seafood paella. He also has peach sangria for himself while she orders peach tea.

"That sangria looks delicious. Wish I can try it." Teddy pouts.

"You can, but you will puke again and have rash again, and I will have to clean up your mess again."

"You already know what to order without looking at the menu. Have you taken many girls here?" She casts a side glance at him.

"Believe it or not, you are my first girlfriend." He sheepishly smiles.

"Oh come on, were you a monk for twenty three years of your life?" Teddy sarcastically asks.

"Sex is not a good topic for dinner conversation." He gives her a stern look.

"Bailey, please don't behave like my dad." She shakes her head, laughing.

Bailey crooks his finger, signaling Teddy to lean closer to him. "First, I don't try to act like your dad. Second, you said you would like someone who is as good as your dad. Third, I can be a monk and still know how to make a girl scream in bed."

Teddy chuckles. She loves how he normally uses chronological order in his sentences. She quietly nods and smiles. "Okay."

After the delicious meal, Bailey offers to pay but Teddy insists it's her turn to treat him. Bailey grins and let her write the check. They slowly walk back to Stanford campus in the cool, tranquil evening.

"Wait, can we visit the Memorial Church Quad? I really love the hallway."

Teddy and Bailey take a leisure stroll along the hallway of the nostalgic quad. She takes off her shoes and walks on her bare feet.

"Why is that?" He gestures his head towards the shoes.

"I'm used to wearing sneakers. I can't wear heels for too long." She beams at him.

They enjoy the comfortable, sentimental silence as they progress from one end to the other of the quad. Suddenly Teddy speaks up. "If Faith is to marry Daniel, I hope he proposes to her here."

"Why here?" He furrows his eyebrows.

"Because this place is beautiful. Also they both are from Stanford so this is a meaningful place to propose. Any girl would love to be proposed here."

Bailey stares at her and chuckles. Are you talking about Faith or yourself, my dear Teddy?

"When are you going back, Teddy? He asks her.

"Tomorrow. Three more days until my dad comes out of the cave." She laughs out loud. "I guess I will see you again in Thanksgiving."


	21. City of Lovers

_**Hi all, first I would like to thank you for still fastening your seat belt and enjoying the ride. I'm glad that many of you love Teddy and Bailey. I also treasure the fact that you guys love Faith and request more Faith's storyline, as well as Crowen's storyline. I already finished writing this fanfic, so I'm not sure if I can edit the scenes and still make the story flow smoothly. But I will continue thinking about , writing these last chapters was hard for me due to lack of Crowen feeling. I watched GA again in hope to be inspired, yet it was depressive as usual. But I tried anyway. Hopefully the next chapter will be better._

_Second, can someone explain to me why I have 145 reviews and only 7 favorites? Show me your support if you love my story so far!_

_Last but not least, __please enjoy this chapter and give me your feedback. Thank you all, my awesome readers._

Owen getting healed

DAY 11

Cristina enters the house with Meredith following behind. She throws the key on the kitchen counter and shouts out.

"Music. Teddy!"

Teddy rushes out from the library, excited to see her mother. "Hey Ma, hey Aunt Mer. What do you bring home?" Meredith hands her trays of chicken wraps and salad. She asks Cristina, who is putting down a bag full of imported wines. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, Owen is inside…"

"Of course! Ignore him. He's happy in his cave now. We haven't talked for five days already."

"Okay, if you say so…" Meredith purses her lips.

"Oh let's drink and dance and have fun tonight. I need someone to celebrate my winning bid with me." Cristina laughs out loud. She pulls out her phone and dials: "Hey Callie! When will you and Arizona come? Don't be too late! Hey make sure you remind April, she's my son's future mother in law!"

"You know you're Kraums person and we are Grey Sloan people, right? You pretty much are inviting your opponents to celebrate your win over our loss. I mean, I am completely okay with it but Callie and Arizona and April…" Meredith is hesitant at Cristina's invitation.

"Oh come on, you sound like an old woman. I know you don't care and neither do Calzona or April. All we care about is our scalpel and sex…" Cristina laughs enthusiastically. "Leave the business to the husbands. I know they're upset with me now so that's why I don't invite them. It's Friday night! It's ladies' night! Yay!"

"Yay!" Meredith cheers with her person.

"Come on, music, Teddy, any song you like, as long as we can dance!" Cristina demands.

Teddy runs to the music player and plays an upbeat song. Cristina and Meredith start to dance wildly. The sound of the music overwhelms the doorbell sounds that Callie, Arizona and April have to stand waiting outside for ten minutes. Eventually, Teddy hears the doorbell so she rushes outside.

"Hey, sorry, it's so loud inside I can't hear…" Teddy apologizes.

"That's great!" Callie holds Arizona's hand and she sways a full circle as they gradually progress into the living room. April shakes her head and smiles as she hands over Teddy a tray of chips and queso dip.

"How is your father doing? Is it okay that we have a party in the house while he's at rest?" She tenderly asks Teddy.

"Oh, my dad is recovering very well. He's having a good time in _his cave_, so good that he even forgets my mom's and my existence out here. He's gonna be out of the cave tomorrow."

"Great. I'm glad to hear about that." April smiles at Teddy.

Owen is working on the laptop as usual for his research in _Anesthetics and PTSD_ _Development_. He has turned in the summary along with the anticipated timeline for the research two days ago, and now he's anxiously waiting for the approval. Suddenly, he hears loud music outside the bedroom mixed up with voices of people. Owen dials Teddy's number and subsequently Cristina's number but no one picks up the phone.

Curious, he walks towards the entrance and leans close to the door, listens to the noise and tries to figure out what is going on. He hears female laughter and chitchats, among which is Cristina's voice yelling and singing enthusiastically along a tune.

_Are they having a party without me?_

Owen hits the desk and bites his lips, feeling irritated because he can't attend the party outside. He paces around the room, trying to find a way to sneak peek at the party without exposing himself to the crowd.

Suddenly, he realizes this is all Cristina's plan to avenge him because he was too focused on _his thing_ that he didn't have time to talk to her. Owen chuckles as he thinks about how his wife would never put up with him, given that he's having a rough time fighting against cancer. She is, indeed, Cristina Yang. It's pretty obvious that the party is destined to be held anywhere but his house, so that the thought of Owen being isolated in his bedroom while his wife is having fun will torment him.

Realizing the motive behind the party, Owen just smiles and shakes his head. He returns to the desk and continues working on the research.

"Dad, you called me?" It's Teddy on Skype.

"Yeah, can you turn on the camera and show me around the party?" Owen genuinely smiles.

"Forget it, Dad. You've been enjoying your time in the cave. We're enjoying ourselves out here without you." Teddy grimaces.

"Oh come on, you know I'm working hard despite my sickness." Owen rants.

"Yeah, I know you're working too hard that you only have time to eat my meals twice a day and you don't even have time to tutor me Chemistry." She snorts at her father.

"I told you I forgot all the Bio and Chem stuff, plus you got 93% for your CLEP test, what do you complain now? Come on, I'm sorry sweetie, how about I make up for you later?" Owen insists Teddy.

"You're bribing me, but I accept that." Teddy chuckles. "Hold on, I have to run to the library real quick, then I'll be back to you." Teddy leaves the tablet at the kitchen counter.

Owen chuckles; he leaves his tablet on his desk and focuses on the screen as he waits for Teddy.

"So how is Owen's doing?" Owen realizes it's Arizona's voice.

"I think he's getting better now. He's been focusing on his work, so focused that he forgets my existence." It's Cristina's sarcastic voice.

"It's good that Chief has something to work on, you know. Being isolated in a room for twelve days must be horrible." April Kepner is trying to defend him. Owen giggles; he knows he always have a faithful student.

"Hm, you must miss having sex with him then." Owen detects it's Callie talking in between her chewing something. He's anxious to hear Cristina's answer.

"Me? Oh forget it. He's the one who's missing the hot sex with me." Cristina chuckles.

"So I guess tomorrow is a big night then." Meredith laughs wickedly. Owen blushes as he listens to their conversation about sex between him and Cristina.

"No way. Who does he think he is? My boss? He hasn't talked to me for almost a week and now he comes out of the cave and expects me to serve him? Oh this queso is so good, April. Thanks for bringing in." Owen can hear Cristina chewing the crispy chips. He chuckles, thinking about how his wife is still bitter about his lack of caring towards her.

"Oh so there is a fight going on." Callie raises her voice teasingly. Owen can imagine her eyes open wide as she speaks.

"Or a cold war..." Arizona giggles playfully.

"…in which the person speaking up first will surrender and lose the war." Meredith laughs out loud.

"Why are you guys so complicated? I mean, look at me and Arizona, we don't have to tease each other or fight with each other. We always have desire towards each other." Owen can hear the smooching sound between Callie and Arizona after Callie's speech. And it gives him goosebumps.

"Uh huh, sex between men and women are complicated." It's Arizona supporting her wife.

"Yeah, it's really…complicated. Jackson has a thing for candles; we usually have sex with many candles on, and I just don't get it. I mean do men like to look at the boobs or the candles?" Owen blushes as he hears April's high pitch voice.

"For me, Derek likes to have sex in the bathroom. But I'm not sure if I really like it because I have dry skin, you know. I can't stand being under the hot water for too long. It's hard to have orgasm when you feel dry." Meredith rants and sighs. Owen's cheeks are now severely tinted ted.

A guilty thought crosses Owen's mind; he wants to hear what Cristina says about having sex with him. But he knows she's a private person when it comes to describing the intimate details. He decides he just stays silent and waits for Teddy.

"What about Owen, Cristina?" Meredith asks Cristina. Owen holds his breath.

"He's…romantic….and sweet. I just hope he's strong again so we can continue our…good sex life." Cristina laughs out loud.

"Hey, why are we all standing? Let's sit on the couch and you can tell me about your favorite move…" Callie giggles.

* * *

DAY 12

Teddy kicks the door hard and enters the house with Theo and Faith following her. Theo drops his backpack on the floor and grabs his mother, who is sleeping safe and sound on the floor of the living room.

"Ma. Wake up!" Theo grimaces.

"Let me sleep." Cristina waving her hand weakly then continues to snore.

"Come on, wake up. It's nine o'clock." Theo pulls the pillow away from his mother in grimace.

"Let's check out Dad first." Faith gestures towards the door of her parents' bedroom. The trio slams it open and stands beside the bed. In the comfortable darkness, Owen is also sleeping safe and sound. A few pillows scatter on the floor, implying he had tossed and turned around a lot during the night.

"Dad. Wake up. You can get out of your cave now." Teddy yells in excitement.

"Oh, let me sleep." Owen groans. He pulls a pillow to cover his ear.

"What happened last night, Teddy?" Faith blinks her eyes.

"Ma had ladies' night out and she was so drunk. And I guess Dad was unable to sleep because of the noise." Teddy sighs. "Dad, wake up. It's 9. It's time you get out of the room!" Teddy pulls the pillow away from Owen.

"Why did she hold a party when Dad was sick and stuck in the room?" Theo purses his lips.

"Apparently there's a war going on between them but I don't know the details. Anyway today is the day and you guys come home for him so…Dad, wake up!" Teddy shakes Owen until he blinks his eyes.

"Hey kid…sorry I was tired…" He groans.

Owen sits up and stares at his children then smiles. "I miss your faces. Thanks for coming home." Owen rubs Theo's hair as he stands closest to him.

Waking up Cristina is a harder task so the children were still struggling with her when Owen already walks out of the bedroom, fresh and composed. He looks around the house, feeling contented for a second before he realizes what a mess it is.

"What happened to my beautiful house when I was on hiatus?" Owen drops his mouth.

"Oh, it was always neat and clean until last night…" Teddy murmurs.

He stretches his arms and smiles at the children: "How do I look?"

"Good. Seems like you defeated cancer." Faith nods.

"How do you usually wake her up? You should do it, you know the drill." Theo gives his mother a helpless look.

"Ah, uhm, you can tickle her. But I'm not doing it now." Owen shakes his head, recalling the cold war that was mentioned last night by Meredith Grey.

"Why not? You do it." Teddy coldly demands her father.

Reluctantly, Owen squats down next to Cristina on the floor and tickles her. He bites his lip to hide a smile. Being waken up in an irritating way, she hits his hands and sits up, intending to yell at him but she realizes they are on a fight, so she stands up and scolds angrily at the children. "It's 9 a.m, for God's sake, I've been sleepless for the whole week!"

"Yeah, and I had to drive to the airport and pick them up instead of you." Teddy gestures towards her brother and sister.

"Why were you sleepless for whole week? Something troubled you?" Theo innocently asks his mother.

Cristina purses her lips and casts a side glance at Owen. She wants to snap at him for tickling her, too; but that would mean she loses the war.

"Of course, I was not used to sleeping in Faith's bed. Now that man has gotten out of the cave, I want my comfy bed back tonight." Cristina complains as she clenches a fist and hits her back gently.

Teddy cheerfully prepares a quick breakfast of pancakes and syrups and everyone joins her at the kitchen. Looking at the giant pile of pancake that his twin exclusively puts on his plate, Theo beams at Teddy:

"I miss your cooking, Teddy. This is good breakfast. I haven't eaten breakfast lately."

"Well don't skip your breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day." Faith reminds her brother.

"So what's the plan for today?" Cristina gazes at her children as she swallows a piece of pancake.

"Well, obviously we need to clean up the mess you created last night with your friends, as well as dump the trash that has been in your room for twelve days. And you need to change your bed sheet and blanket, Dad. It would be harmful for Mom to sleep on it." Teddy suggests.

"Looks like Teddy is in charge of the house now, not you two." Theo mocks Owen and Cristina.

Owen sheepishly smiles but Cristina tries to maintain a cold face. "What's after that?"

"Well, since you go to work, we will drive Dad to the hospital to have the check up in the afternoon." Faith gestures at her father.

"No, I don't have to go to Kraums today. I cleared my schedule for today because…" Cristina pauses at the middle of the sentence. She doesn't want to admit that she wants to spend time with Owen.

"Well then let's go to the hospital all together!" Faith exclaims.

"Yeah, even though it would be weird then, five of us in a car, it's been a while, right?" Theo furrows his eyebrows and looks at Faith.

"Yeah. It's kinda weird." Faith nods.

As Cristina is getting a shower, Owen quietly walks around the house and helps cleaning up the mess with delight. He stares at the living room full of sunlight, then shifts his sight out to the back garden with golden maple trees and be breath taken by the beauty of the house he's living. For a moment, he stands still and smiles, thinking about how all the fights he had been through transformed him into a stronger man.

"Let's go, Dad, are you feeling good?" Faith walks towards Owen and wraps her arm around his shoulder.

"Uh huh." He grins and gets ready to visit the hospital.

Without much talking, everyone in the Hunt family enters the oncology room and holds their breaths. Owen sits on the exam bed and exhales deeply. He tries to maintain a calm and relaxed countenance but his head slowly reviews the course of twelve days he had been through. _You have to fight some bad days to earn the best days of your life._ Owen feels like he has come back to Earth from hell, and he hopes the news he is about to receive would be heaven. He chose radiation therapy. He chose the toughest, most devastating treatment so that he wouldn't have to endure for long. He chose to participate in the trial because he believed the outcome would worth the risk.

"I want to get the PET scan result by myself, please." Owen insists Dr. Winston after taking all the required tests. He can't wait to stroll around the surgical floors, inhale the familiar antiseptic smell and greet his friendly staff. It gives him a break to stay away from the people who are worrying about him. It gives him a moment to reflect himself, and even a moment to freak out if the PET scan doesn't come back with positive news as expected.

As Owen waits in the PET exam room, he hears the family bossy voice. "Dr. Hunt!" It's Dr. Miranda Bailey's scolding from behind. "What are you doing here?"

"Uhm, I'm waiting for my scan result. Here it is." Owen sheepishly smiles and reaches for the result as it comes out.

"Let _the doctor_ see first." She snorts at him and grabs the result from his hands with her Nazi demeanor.

"Looks very good, Dr. Hunt. No sign of tumor. All clear." After a moment of careful observation, Dr. Bailey eventually beams at him.

"All clear? Oh thank god. Thank you Dr. Bailey." Owen stands up and gives Miranda Bailey a hug. "Also, if you receive any letter sent from USAISR to my office address, which is currently your office address…" Owen scratches his hair. "..would you notify me immediately?"

"What's USAISR?" Dr. Bailey furrows her eyebrow.

"United States Army Institute of Surgical Research"

"I will. Now you'd better go talk to Dr. Winston. I'm sure he will want to set you up with follow ups to make sure that you are cancer free."

Owen slowly walks back to the oncology department and helplessly smiles along the way. As he steps inside the room, Owen fakes a sorrow face and Faith starts to sniffle. He waits for a moment before yelling "Tah dah! Clean scan!" Owen shows up the PET scan with a big grin.

"Wow, that's great. Congrats, Dad." Theo comes over to give Owen a tight hug.

"Dad! This is not something to joke about!" Teddy and Faith both scold at him before Faith bursts out into tears.

"Oh I'm sorry. Don't cry, Faith. I'm fine now." Owen walks over to hug his oldest daughter while his sight shifts towards Cristina. He sheepishly smiles at her and forgets completely about the silly war going on between them. Despite his content, Cristina quietly exits the room. Even not talking to Owen, she has been worrying about the result since morning. Now that everything is good, she stares at the window overlooking the parking lot and sighs in relief. She feels happiness fluttering in her chest and gently smiles.

The ride back home is quite enjoyable as the children talk nonstop about their campus lives. Owen notices Teddy is rather quiet and disengaged in the conversation. He leans forward to Teddy's seat in the front row and touches her shoulder.

"Hey, thank you sweetie. You took excellent care of me."

"No problem, Dad. And I will go back to school next semester, don't worry." She pats his hand and reassures her father.

Teddy soon returns to her cheerful manner as Jane calls her and asks her to go to see the movies with the Avery sisters. "Aww, too bad, Theo and Faith is at home, so I probably stay at home." She kindly refuses.

"You should go, Teddy. You've been glued to the house for two weeks. Faith and Theo should join, too. I'm sure Jane will be happy to meet Theo." Cristina suggests.

"I was glued to the house because I studied for CLEP. But yeah, we can hang out, what do you guys think? I mean you're still at home tomorrow." Teddy smiles as she looks at her siblings, waiting for their answers excitedly.

"Yeah, sounds great. Can we ask Sophie and Zola to join us?" Faith rubs her hands.

"Of course. Poor Theo, he's the only guy in the group. I wish Bailey were here…" Teddy looks out of the window.

…..

Jane and Jasmine quickly come over Cristina's house and the young adults occupy her living room talking, eating and watching TV while waiting for Zola and Sophia. Cristina hasn't completely recovered from the hangover last night so she decides to take a nap. Reluctantly, she strolls inside her room and jumps on the bed. Glancing at the closed bathroom door, she guesses Owen is taking a shower, so she tosses over his spot and tucks under the blanket. The familiar smell of fresh linen mixed with the unique warm scent of Owen calms her mind. She quickly falls into a sound nap.

Owen walks out from the bathroom with his bare chest, intending to have a steamy make up to his wife. However, as he dries up from a gray towel, he glances at Cristina's peaceful face, chuckling at the thought his wife in a middle of a good dream and giving up the thought of having sex. Quietly, Owen advances the bed and kisses on Cristina's forehead before walking over the desk and turning on the laptop. There's nothing worse than sitting and waiting hopelessly for an answer from the USAISR, so he decides to continue on finding an alternate potential funding for his research meanwhile. All his career as a trauma surgeon, Owen was mainly interested in the patient care aspect of medicine that he never thought he could be hooked up to doing research one day. Never could he imagine that a boring morning being isolated in the bedroom could steer his life to a new direction. Thinking about the past twelve days in _the cave_, he can't say it didn't bring him any goodness.

Cristina wakes up after an hour or so. As she blinks her eyes and gets herself to the reality, she stares at the figure of Owen locking his eyes to the laptop screen. He looks completely absorbed to whatever he is doing. Slipping out a sigh, Cristina looks up at the ceiling, wondering how he could be completely careless about her and her feelings. She was worried about him. She was there waiting for him and supporting him, and yet he put all his attention into the research. Well, at the professional experience, she can understand the passion Owen has for his work because she was once completely hooked up to the 3d printer, trying to progress her work as much as possible. She was also once keen on moving to another continent to achieve her dream. Despite all the sound explanations, Cristina still feels angry at Owen, however.

"Mer, when do you finish your shift? We really need to hang out." Cristina talks boldly to the cell phone as she lies on the bed. Owen jumps out of his skin to hear the noise out of the sudden.

"Oh, forget Owen! He loves _his cave_ so much that he glues his ass to the desk chair." It's Cristina sarcastic voice again. Owen furrows his eyebrows; he looks over his shoulder and sees her waving hands in the air angrily as she complains about him.

"Of course, he's well aware of his role in saving any potential soldiers from PTSD so he needs to focus on his mission, Mer. I totally understand that. Country before family." Owen starts to feel irritated by his wife's mock.

"Oh no, we haven't talked for five days and I'm totally fine with this ongoing silence. Seriously, it's not a big deal for me. I couldn't care less. People do change, especially after their life turns a new page. So, anyway, I need a beautiful gown because I have an important dinner tomorrow night." Owen grimaces at Cristina's cynic.

"No, I'd rather be drunk with you than go shopping. I already have a designer in mind. I just need to figure out the right size and reserve the dress in store." Cristina stumbles out of bed and strides towards the desk that Owen is sitting. She violently pushes away his roller chair and minimizes the research page on the screen. Then, she opens a new Google tab and types in the box: Ellie Sabb. Owen drops his mouth in disbelief at her abrupt action.

"Here it is, the navy sequin one. Let's see the size chart." She mumbles to the phone.

Owen slowly moves his chair towards the desk again after his wife walks away from the laptop. He rolls his eyes at the number $879.00 under the dress image on screen and exhales deeply. She must be really mad at him, he guesses. He shakes his head and secretly smiles as he opens his research page again.

"Damn it, they use the European size chart. I'll have to measure my cups again." Cristina continues to talk with Meredith as she pulls of her t-shirt.

"Bust 86 cm. Let's see what's the closest size." Cristina abruptly shoves Owen away once more as she occupies his space. She hunches her back and tilts closer to the screen to have a better look at the size chart. Both amused and upset, Owen bites his lip and gazes at the little breasts under a lacy pink bra right in front his eyes. Cristina's provocative pose is turning him on. Owen can't help but take away the phone in Cristina's hand, turns it off and throws it on the mattress out of her surprise. He wraps his large arm around her flat belly and carries her to bed.

Feeling angry but not allowed to yell, Cristina struggles in Owen's arm and hits him constantly. Owen smirks at her attempt to fight against him. He locks both of her wrists in one of his hand; the other tossing her around and pats on the cute butt of his naughty wife. Cristina continues to kick into the air and Owen has to yield left and right to avoid her violent reactions.

They continue to physically fight with each other without uttering a word. Both Cristina and Owen know that the person who talks first will lose this cold war, and both are determined to win over the other. With one hand securing Cristina's wrists, he manages to make her lay supine and unbuttons her jeans using the other hand. The phone rings again; Owen leans over to pick it up and presses loudspeaker.

"Cristina, why did you hang up abruptly? Anyway, did you figure out…" It's Meredith's voice on the line.

"I'm sorry Grey. My wife is busy now." Owen shouts into the phone.

"Oh, I'll call back later then." Meredith reluctantly says.

"Owen is being pathetic, Mer! He's on top of me and trying to beg for some sex…" Cristina yells out loud.

Owen climbs on top of Cristina and uses his hip to pin her down to the bed. He bends towards the phone on the mattress and clicks the red button to hang it up. He smiles lustfully as he stares at Cristina. _It's gonna be fun._

Without uttering any word, Owen continues to strip off his wife's jeans forcefully. He lets the jeans hung at her ankles so she no longer can move her legs freely. Then, he bends down to plant a kiss on her lips but she deliberately seals them tightly, preventing his tongue to seek for hers. Chuckling, he moves on to shower Cristina with kisses on her forehead, her eyes and her cheeks. Owen smirks playfully as he stares at her beauty closely then he gently licks the spot behind the ears which makes her tremble. Cristina can't help but relax her body and close her eyes. Noticing that his wife is aroused now, he slowly loses the grip of her wrists and continues to nip the skin on her neck and then her chest. As Owen inhales the delicate bergamot scent from Cristina's body, his heart beats rapidly and his mind is obsessed with the wild thought of him melting into her.

Cristina shakes her body to the left and right, desperately tries to ban Owen from kissing her breasts. Displeased with her struggle, Owen abruptly peels off the cup of the bra, revealing the little nipple to his hungry eyes. He sucks it passionately to make it harden. Then, he patiently teases the areola, waiting for her to moan and beg him so that he could officially win this war. Cristina's mouth forms a circle and she gasps in silence, managing to not break her voice. She tries to stay focus but her head is about to explode with the pleasure feelings.

Knowing that he is in the control position, Owen gently strips off the white panty from his wife's hip off the legs. He removes his hand from her wrists and quickly pulls off his jeans. Cristina has gradually changed from fighting against Owen to supporting him. She spreads her legs wide and Owen immediately thrusts his erect length into her wall. He feels his strong thing being soaked up in the lukewarm lubricant, and he starts to move in and out faster. They pound in rhythm as they embrace the other person's presence inside their bodies and souls. Waves of pleasure overwhelm Cristina's head and she grips his hip tightly as she reaches an orgasm. Then, she stares at Owen who is grimacing in joy, excitedly waiting for him to roar and lose the war.

As Owen empties his energy into Cristina's womb, he bites his lips to bleed so that he wouldn't moan. Next, he collapses on her body and pants, feeling completely satisfied with their reunion sex after twelve days.

Feeling displeased that her husband still doesn't surrender, Cristina shoves him aside and stumbles out of bed. She puts on her clothes and slams the door angrily as she walks out of the house.

*Day 12 to be continued...


	22. Today Has Been OK

_**Last chapter is posted. As I talked to my friends a week ago, I wrote the last two chapters in one piece of 10,000 words but concerned whether I should split it up, hence you have the previous chapter which was somewhat controlversial._

_To Beth: wow that was a highly critical review, if I don't want to say hateful review. But it's okay, I guess a few readers would have the same feeling like you. I'm gonna post it anyway because seemed like you asked for my permission to hurt me and I let you. Just to let you know I decide **to not change **a single word in the previous chapter and this chapter after reading your comment. So check out and you can understand more my point of view about Crowen._

_Last but not least, enjoy the last chapter my dear readers. _

* * *

"Meredith, have you seen my wife?" Owen talks to Meredith on the phone.

"Yeah, we're hitting Joe's now." Looking up at the clock, Owen sighs to realize it's 8:30 p.m. He has spent the whole afternoon making a delicious dinner of clam chowder and steak in mushroom sauce as he waited for Cristina to come home, and now it seems his effort is a complete waste. Owen puts on his jackets then drives to Emerald City Bar. The slow and relenting jazz on the radio calms his mind as he enjoys the leisure drive to the bar to pick up his wife.

The bell jingles as Owen lightly opens the door, letting a swift cool breeze entering the chaotic atmosphere. He sends his gaze around the room, searching for the familiar delicate frame covered by the thick curly hair. Owen spots Cristina sitting at the counter together with Meredith and Callie. He intends to walk towards her when someone grips his shoulder and stops him.

"Come here." Jackson crooks his fingers. Owen follows him and sneaks in between the tiny booths to reach a table at the far corner of the bar. Alex Karev and Derek Shepherd are already waiting for him.

"Welcome back, Hunt. We can't wait until you resume your Chief position. Bailey treated the hospital as her concentration camp." Alex slides a mug of beer to Owen.

"Ah, thanks. I need to talk to Cristina first." Owen kindly refuses.

"Come on, you can always talk to her later tonight. We know she's abandoning you sex and we have plans to help you." Derek rubs his hands excitedly.

"Who said she's abandoning me sex?" Owen jumps on the chair and swallows a large gulp of beer.

"How can you have sex if you're in a _cold war?" _Jackson furrows his eyesbrows.

"Oh we are not having…." Owen shakes his head embarrassedly.

"You just got out of _your cave_. And you've been ignoring your wife. And it's understandable. I mean sometimes we need to be away from the women to have a new, fresh perspective." Alex smiles at Owen.

"How do you know about the _cave?" _Owen stares at Alex.

"Don't be embarrassed, Hunt. Look at what you did when you were by yourself. You initiated a promising research within four days. That's incredible. So we're gonna help you with some good themes that you can enjoy with Cristina tonight." Derek pats Owen's shoulder.

"You should arrange some scented candles in the room. They will spice your night up." Jackson purses his lips.

"I know how to spice things up." Owen shakes his head amusedly.

"No, I'm serious. The candles will do good to you. Trust me." Jackson reassures Owen.

"Have you tried having intimacy in the bathroom? It's hot." Derek beams at Owen.

Owen sighs and giggles before composing himself and staring at his guy friends.

"Okay, I don't really want to say this. But since you guys really want to help me, I think I need to spit it out. Avery, April wonders the point of having candles when you only stare at her boobs."

"Wait, what…" Jackson flushes as he hears what Owen just said.

"And Derek, Meredith has dry skin and she complains that it's hard to reach an orgasm under the hot water." Owen mumbles.

"How can she tell you…" Derek shakes his head in embarrassment.

"I got to know about your stories just as much as you know about mine. So, thanks for the incentive, but we should focus on our own problems, guys." Owen pats Derek's shoulder in support.

"I agree." Derek drinks the rest of his vodka.

"Indeed." Jackson nods in agreement.

Far away from where the men are sitting, Cristina orders the second shot of tequila and gulps in the liquid all at once. Callie is whirling the olive stick in her martini, she looks up and furrows her eyebrows: "Are you okay, Cristina?"

"She's okay. She's actually happy now." Meredith smiles at Callie in response.

"Did she get laid?" Callie chuckles.

"Uh huh. And she was contented after reading Owen's research booklet. I'm not sure what happened, but yeah, she's good." Meredith purses her lips.

Cristina chuckles as she rests her elbow on the counter and places her chin against the palm. In the midst of the fuzziness, she recalls driving to Grey Sloan hospital after a heated but angry sex. It was one of the strangest intercourses she's ever been with Owen. In one way, it was a steamy and amazing reunion because they had missed being in each other's embrace for two weeks; in another way, it was a fierce and outrageous fight since either was unwilling to start up the conversation and surrender.

Feeling she was at a standstill, Cristina drove to Grey Sloan to find her person, hoping she could sort things out in between the shopping and the tequilas. She was still sad about Owen until Dr. Bailey handed her the letter from USAISR and the research booklet.

"Pass them to Hunt, Yang. This is one hell of a research conducted in four days. Even it's just in the initiation stage, it's a brilliant and promising project. This hospital is proud of him."

Reluctantly, Cristina slowly flipped through the research booklet as she sat down at a bench, waiting for Meredith to finish her shift. She ran her fingers on the navy hard cover engraved with golden letters: _Anesthetics and PTSD Development, A Critical Introduction. _Owen was always an exemplary and solicitous person with a classic taste. His personalities were reflected on the sophisticated cover as well as the professionalism of the content.

Cristina gently flipped over the hard cover. She held her breath as she gazed at the italics dedication on the first page:

_To my dear wife Cristina Yang,_

_Who is my better half, my partner in crime,_

_And who volunteers to be Stephen Hawking's wife for me if I were ever recommended to unplug my life support:_

_Your love and kindness healed my war wound, mended my PTSD and inspired me to fight to be a better individual for our society._

_I conduct this research with your love as the main input, in hope that many mentally injured soldiers of our country will benefit from this and return home with an intact soul._

Cristina almost shed a tear when she read the emotional inscription. Even the research was just in its initial stage and waiting to be funded, she knew it would be groundbreaking given the effort and commitment Owen put into it. Happiness fluttered in her chest as his dedication to the research revived her passion to contribute to the face of medicine. Cristina smiled sheepishly, thinking about how they could be childish, sulking and fighting like foolish teenagers. She recalled one of the reasons that bind them tightly together in the first place: the greater love for medicine.

Cristina sat daydreaming for a little while until Meredith came to find her. They spent the rest of the evening going to the mall to pick up her gown, having a marvelous dinner at one of the finest Seattle restaurants and visiting Joe's to meet with their close circle of acquaintance.

Now at the Emerald City Bar, Owen slowly worms his way through the crowd towards Cristina at the counter. He observes her placing her chin against the palm, talking and smiling cheerfully to Meredith and Callie, and a smile graces on his lips. The uniquely hot, stuffy air and the chaotic sound of this pub always make his heart beat faster. The atmosphere reminds him one of the nights at the same place when he gazed at Cristina's beauty and sheepishly expressed his wish to be around her forty years from then. Now that twenty years have passed, wouldn't it be time to renew his wish to be with her for another forty years?

Owen sneaks in the tiny space between Cristina and Meredith at the counter. He clears his throat and murmurs .

"Hey, I know you're mad but you just can't sit here and drink all night. I initiated the conversation, see? I surrender this war. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings and I would love to make up to you if you agree to…"

Cristina chuckles as she hears Owen's apology. She recalls the day Owen failed her Chief of Resident interview and later tried to make it up to her at this same counter. She turns to him and plants an abrupt kiss on his lips in the middle of his sentence.

"I'm so happy that you are recovering well, Owen. You're the love of my life and it's stupid that we keep pretending..."

Owen stares at Cristina yearningly as she speaks before cupping her face and planting on her the second kiss, also in the middle of her sentence.

"Erhem. Please don't make out right here." Callie clears her throat.

"I forgot. Dr. Bailey gave you these." Cristina searches in her handbag and hands Owen an envelope along his original research booklet. He anxiously tears off the envelope and reads the letter.

"I get the research grant, Cristina. Four million. I really can't believe this because I only had four days to assemble all the resources I had." He grins happily and Cristina hugs her.

"You did a great job, Owen."

"What is that hugging?" It's Derek's voice from behind. Owen turns around to the guys and shares them the great news.

"Great. We have another reason to celebrate tonight. Why don't you guys join us at the bigger table?" Jackson gestures towards the table the guys sat earlier.

"Oh I thought you guys don't want to talk to me because you wanna be me but you can't." Cristina laughs sarcastically.

"Tonight is an exception, Cristina. Just tonight. We celebrate your husband's complete recovery and his research getting funded. We are still enemies, Yang." Derek smirks.

"Fine. I'm ready to resume enemy mode whenever you want." Cristina smiles mischievously.

'By the way, I think my daughters are with your children?" Jackson furrows his eyebrows as he glances at the watch.

"Uh huh, Jane is having a good time with my son." Cristina mocks Jackson.

"I knew it." Jackson shakes his head and sighs.

"Come on, Avery. My son is a good guy. Don't be too tough on him." Owen pats Jackson's shoulder.

"My son is also a good guy, Hunt. Don't be too tough on him." Derek pats Owen's back as he repeats the exact same words.

Meredith, Cristina and Callie move over to the big table to join the men with more beers, peanuts and casual chitchats. As the door opens, the bell jingles a merry sound and another cool breeze sweeps inside the bar. Cristina shudders and buttons up her sweater. Owen gently pulls his chair closer to hers; his arm wraps her shoulder and his warmth radiates over her body. Cristina tenderly places a small hand on his lap under the table and enjoys the sacred simplicity of him by her side, healthy, robust and cheerful.

* * *

"I really want a dress like that." Teddy looks at Cristina in the Elie Sabb gown and purses her lips.

"She used Dad's credit card to shop that dress." Faith stares at her mother and joins her sister's conversation.

"That's to make up for what I sacrificed during the last twelve days." Cristina says as she turns around in front of the mirror.

"Do I really need to go?" Theo grimaces as he adjusts his bow.

"Dad, you said you would make up for the time I took care of you. When can you give me your credit card?" Teddy yells into her parents' bedroom.

"I can't afford another Ellie Sabb. I'm broke, Teddy." Owen yells back at her.

"I never really like banquet." Theo sighs.

"This is not a banquet. It's just a casual, friendly dinner with my business partner." Cristina scolds at her son.

It is the day after Owen finished his radiation treatment and a limousine arrives at the front door of Owen's house to take everyone to the Seattle Space Needle. Owen realizes Theo has been nervous since Cristina asked the children to attend the dinner with her last night. He isn't sure why Theo confided he doesn't like to go to the banquets, given he and Cristina took the children to Grey Sloan's fundraising events several times and Theo was perfectly fine.

As they stand waiting for the elevator at the base of the tower, Theo murmurs.

"I really can't, I'm sorry."

Cristina immediately realizes what is happening to his son. She puts her arm around his shoulder and gently reassures him.

"Don't worry, Theo, I understand that riding this specific elevator scares you. We're gonna wait until we find a crowded elevator so that you don't have to look at the view outside the glass, okay?"

Theo quietly nods and takes a deep breath.

The family patiently waits as the elevators come and leave the ground until Theo finds one that looks acceptable to him. Cristina and Owen sneak into the confined space first, then Theo reluctantly walks in and eventually so do his sisters. Teddy gently grips her brother's elbow while Theo closes his eyes, waiting for this terrifying moment to pass.

They arrive at the 500 feet height of the Seattle Space Needle and a family greets Cristina and Owen at the entrance of the restaurant. Cristina introduces Owen to a tall and solid man.

"Darling, this is Mr. Bob Hughes, former Executive Committee Member of Washington State Board of Education. He was very interested in my project of building the medical school; and his family had generously sponsored for the Banner Simulation Center facility." Cristina smiles gently as if she's the most tender and graceful wife on Earth.

"This is Dr. Owen Hunt, my husband, Mr. Hughes. And these are my children: Faith, Theo and Teddy."

Teddy and Theo smile at the children of Mr. Hughes who turn out to be twins as well.

"It's a great coincidence that my children are also twins. This is Eleanor Hughes, my wife. This is Austin and Addison."

Austin Hughes has beautiful brown eyes behind his glasses. He smiles at Teddy as he shakes her hand.

The two families settle at a big table at the center of the restaurant. Theo secretly sighs in relief as he doesn't have to look around and see the city below. He starts to enjoy the conversation with Mrs. Hughes and Addison Hughes, who turn out to be nice and elegant ladies.

"Now as we wait for the appetizer, I would like to ask how far you have progressed in building the medical school."

"Kraums Institute had successfully signed a contract with Kleins Co. to start the first phase of the construction, sir." Cristina smiles gently at Mr. Hughes.

"Kleins Co.? That's an excellent choice, Dr. Yang. What a coincidence Kleins formed a partnership with Scraze and Winters to build this Seattle Space Needle as we sit here." The gentleman kindly responds.

"Indeed. We signed the contract with Kleins because I'm always impressed with the rapid and efficient work of the company. With the construction progress they propose, the medical school will be finished in fourteen months."

"Congratulations, Dr. Yang. That said, you're working on the submitting the name of the school to the board, as well as recruiting your personnel?" Mr. Hughes wonders.

"Yes, I am, sir." Cristina turns her head right to look at Owen and a graceful smile forms on her lips. She gently exhales and continues. "The name of the medical school will be _Yang and Hunt College of Medicine."_

Owen almost suffocates to hear the words coming from Cristina's lips. He gazes at her secretly, trying to not look so freaked out in surprise. Mr. Hughes raises his glass of champagne and smiles: "To _Yang and Hunt College of Medicine, _the second medical school of Washington State."

Cristina gently holds Owen's hand as she joins everyone to raise their champagne: "To Yang and Hunt College of Medicine."

The two families have a quite joyful dinner as they discuss about the upcoming medical school as well as the projects that Cristina and Owen are working on. As the adults talk about their work, the children discuss about their school work and hobbies. Cristina was reluctant at first when Mr. Hughes invited the whole family over dinner; yet the idea that once sounded awkward turns into a warm and friendly meeting that lasts until the restaurant closing time.

"What the hell, Cristina." Owen exhales as the family stands waiting for an elevator.

"What?" Cristina rolls her eyes.

"_Yang and Hunt College of Medicine. _You made me speechless." Owen pulls Cristina closer and hugs her.

"I still can't believe it, Mom. I thought the name would be Seattle West School of Medicine or something." Faith shrugs in disbelief.

"You made us almost suffocate." Teddy laughs out loud.

"That's amazing, Ma." Theo gently smiles. He feels much relaxed after the dinner.

Owen and his family stand for fifteen minutes or so but they can't find an elevator crowded enough to enter. Eventually, Theo sighs and murmurs.

"It's okay, Ma. I can just close my eyes. It's late and most of the visitors left for good already."

Owen grips Theo's shoulder. "It's okay, son. We have plenty of time. WE can wait until the employees of the restaurant leave and join them."

Theo shakes his head."No, I'm fine, Dad. I should confront my fear and learn to ride an elevator again sooner or later. I would just close my eyes if I feel nervous."

"Alright then, we can talk about things as we ride the elevator." Cristina smiles at him.

The family enters the next available elevator which turns out to be empty. As before, Cristina and Owen enter the elevator first. They lean on the glass, in hope that it covers a large part of the view for Theo. Theo turns his back to his parents and faces the steel doors, leaving the splendid view behind him. Teddy and Faith eventually step in and stand at both sides of Theo, trying to talk to make him forget his fear of height.

"I like the Hughes family. Mrs. Hughes and Addison are very lovely." Faith compliments the guests.

"Yeah. I like them, too. They seem make a very happy family. I wonder if the twins fight as hard as me and Theo." Teddy laughs out loud.

"I'm nice to you, Teddy. I'm not just a fine brother, I'm a great brother." Still closing his eyes, Theo defends himself.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are old yet they look very happy hand in hand. They're as cute as a young couple falling in love for the first time." Faith smiles as she thinks about Mr. and Mrs. Hughes. Owen and Cristina quietly listen to their children and chuckle.

"Dr. Hunt and Dr. Yang, I hope you two will be like them." Teddy turns around and playfully scolds at her parents.

"I guess they believe in _happily ever after_." Still closing his eyes, Theo recalls the caring gestures of the old couple throughout the dinner.

"I don't believe in _happily ever after."_ Teddy shakes her head and sighs.

"I don't believe in _happily ever after, _either." Faith also shakes her head as she crosses her arms.

"Oh come on, you two are too young to be cynical and bitter about love." Owen groans out loud and Cristina giggles. She leans her head on his shoulder as she listens to the conversation amusedly.

"Don't tell me you believe in _happily ever after_, Dad." Still facing the steel doors of the elevator, Theo raises his voice.

"I do, son, I do believe in _happily ever after."_ Owen speaks up with determination. He wants his children to be more positive about life and love.

"Well, maybe you do, but Ma doesn't. She's realistic. And I'm with her." Teddy purses her lips.

Owen chuckles. He gently turns his head around and looks at his wife. "Well, do you or do you not, Cristina?"

Teddy and Faith patiently wait for their mother's answer. As Cristina is still leaning on Owen's shoulder, she shifts her sight to the breathtaking view of Seattle at night outside the shiny glass. The entire lively city is soaked up in the bright and cheerful shades of yellow lights. Happiness flutters in her chest as she reviews the beautiful journey of twenty years she has shared with Owen and their children. A tender smile graces on her lips and her fingers intertwine with his. Eventually, Cristina turns her head towards Owen and stares at his blue eyes. She exhales with great satisfaction:

"I do, Owen. I do believe in _happily ever after."_

* * *

_So, "happily ever after", my dear readers, that's it for now :) I really wish I could go on, but I have to resume school and work next week, and I know many of you do, too. So, I would like to call this a **semi-closure, **which means if you are reading up to this chapter, you will feel satisfied that there's a sense of closure to the Hunt family story, but you can also come back for more._

_Acknowledgement: that dedication to Cristina of Owen's project took me half an hour to write. My English sucks :))_

_I found immense joy in writing this sequel Today Has Been OK because I got to make friends with some amazing readers. So whoever you are, you know I'm talking about you, and thank you for your companion in my course of writing. Thank you for those times when I was lack of mood to write and you gave me inspiration just by complimenting how handsome Owen is or how steamy Crowen's sex is, lol._

_I would say the story is quite a ride and things amazingly don't turn out as I planned. I have so much more to tell you about Theo and Jane, Faith and Daniel, Teddy and Bailey, Cristina and Owen, the parents vs. the children, and last but not least the professional careers they are pursuing. I want to tell you more about Theo's trauma, about how Faith comes to love Daniel, and so on. You think you like Teddy the most among the three because I put effort into writing her. I have beautiful storylines for Faith and Theo, too; I just don't have time and energy to do them now. Each event for each couple would require a chapter, and it will take me another 20 chaps or so to completely tell their stories._

_That said, I have to stop here and hopefully resume it later. If you really enjoy my fanfic, please follow me, follow the story, and we can meet again sometimes, Thanksgiving or Cristmas for example, and together we'll enjoy the journey that Cristina, Owen and their children have offered to share with us._

_It's funny within a chapter, I receive many contradicting reviews. Some said my Cristina was too tough on their children, others said my Cristina was too family focused. Similarly, Teddy was praised to be adorable with her caring heart, and the next chapter when **I decided to make her go**** crazy, **she started to lose a few readers' empathy. Just want to let you know it was my intention to write about a family that is less than ideal. The Hunt family members, just like any ordinary family member, have moments of being selfish, greedy, whined or even out of mind. What important is they understand one another in those less than perfect moments and stick together and fight together as a family. I believe Cristina and Owen are the parents who will teach their children that lesson. I hear your POV about Crowen, and I thank those who share my POV about them. It feels great to know someone out there in the Crowen fandom have a similar mind to me._

_Finally, friendly reminder that I love to read your reviews, anonymous or not, English or Chinese. And last but not least: Crowen Forever._


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